


"'!!>* 




■I- *' - ^-il 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER 



HORSE BOOK. 



CONCISE MANUAL FOR HORSE OWNERS. 



EMBRACING 

BREEDS AND CHARACTERISTICS; CARE AND MANAGEMENT; FEEDING AND 
CLEANING; STABLE VENTILATION AND care; VICES AND UNSOUND- 
NESS; HOW TO TELL THE AGE; BONES AND MUSCLES; 
THE LIMBS AND FEET; DISEASES AND REMEDIES; 
VETERINARY PRESCRIPTIONS, ETC., ETC. 



From The Best Modern Authorities. 




/ 



JONATHAN PERIAM, 

EDITUR THE PRAIRIE FARMER; PROFESSOR HYGIENE, CARE, AND MANAGEMENT OP 

ANIMALS, CHICAGO VETERINARY COLLEGE; AUTHOR OF WORKS ON 

HORSES, CATTLE, SHEEP, SWINE, POULTRY, ETC., ETC. 



OVER ONE HUNDRED FINE ENGRAVINGS. / ^ Jj Cf y/ 



/ 



CHICAGO; 

THE PRAIRIE FARMER PUBLISHING COMPANY 

Rand-McNally Building, 166-168 Adams St. 
1891. 



COPTBIGHT 1891, BY ThE PrAIRIE FaRMER PUBLISHING CO. 






The Prairie Farmer Horse Book. 



PREFACE. 

The Prairie Farmer Horse Book was undertaken 
in consequence of repeated inquiry from friends for some- 
thing that should combine the experience of the writer, and 
others, in the breeds and breeding of horses, care and 
management, hygiene in relation to stable care, unsound- 
ness, vices, and the treatment of common diseases. Feed- 
ing was also suggested as an important matter. This 
latter, however, has not been treated of, except incidentally, 
and for the reason that the grains, sound oats and Indian 
corn principally, with sweet hay, are the natural foods of 
the horse, and must be generally relied on, except in case 
of sickness, in which event the proper foods are specifically 
mentioned. 

We do not believe in a long preface to a book, and this 
will be short. Where we have drawn upon creditable 
authorities, credit has been given. We have brought 
together some graphic illustrations from masters in deline- 
ation, old as well as new. In veterinary medicine and sur- 
gery, Doctor Paaren, a long-time conductor of the Veteri- 
nary Department of The Prairie Farmer, has been 
largely relied on. In some departments, among other 
authorities, we have quoted freely from Fitzwygram, one of 
the most advanced of the later English authorities on the 
management and cure of the Equine Race. To simplify 
the work, we have divided the reading-matter into parts, 

(3) 



4 PREFACE. 

thus making each department easy to find and identify. 

Where scientific terms are used, the explanations are given 

in the context, so far as possible. That the book shall 

fairly reach the intention desired is the hope of the author 

and compiler. 

JONATHAN PERIAM. 

Chicago, III. 



CONTENTS. 



Part 


I. 


Part 


II. 


Part 


III. 


Part 


IV. 


Part 


V. 


Part 


VI. 


Part 


VII. 


Part 


VIII. 


Part 


IX. 


Part 


X. 


Part 


XI. 


Part 


XII. 


Part 


XIII. 


Part 


XIV. 


Part 


XV. 


Part 


XVI. 


Part 


XVII. 


Part XVIII. 



Characteristics of Principal Breeds, _ . . _ . 7 

Draft-Horses, -..-.._..._ 15 

Ponies, Asses, and Mules, --..... 29 

Hygiene, Care, and Management. . - . . , 32 

Feeding and Grooming, .--__.__ 48 

Bones, Muscles, etc., of the Horse, _ . . . 58 

Age Indicated by the Teeth, ...... 93 

Vices, Unsoundness, and Disabilities, _ . ^ _ 104 

Breeding, and the Breeder's Art, - - . . _ 1 10 

Common Diseases of the Horse, . _ _ _ . 127 

Diseases of the Stomach and Intestines, _ _ . 150 

Diseases of the Kidneys, Bladder, and Liver. . . 157 
Relating to the Liver, ----.-__i66 

General Description of Conditions and Disabilities, 173 

A few Things to be Remembered, ..... 207 

Some Diseases and Disabilities Requiring Ex- 
tended Presentation, --...... 222 

Diseases of the Head, Body, and Internal Organs, 249 

Medicines, and Safe Doses to Administer, . . . 321 



(5) 



The Prairie Farmer Horse Book. 



PART I 



CHARACTERISTICS OF PRINCIPAL BREEDS. 



I. The Horse for Work and Speed.— In the 

early history of the world, the horse was used for the chase 
and for war; the ass, and later, the mule, for labor. Except 
in warm countries, the horse is, at the present day, an ani- 
mal of general use, for speed, pleasure, and labor; and the 
higher the civilization, the greater adaptability does the 
horse show for all contingencies where he may prove the 
most useful servant and friend of man. 

The horse combines, in the highest degree, bone, sinew, 
and muscle to endure the most violent exertion. His nerv- 
ous system is of the first order. The lungs are immense; 
while the heart, with the arterial and veinous system, is 
most ample for the supply of blood to every part. His 
frame is perfection, carrying no spare fat. In this connec- 
tion we quote the words of the late J. H. Walsh, F. R. C. 
S. (" Stonehenge"), who wrote: 

One of the greatest peculiarities in the structure of the 
horse is the small size of his stomach, which is also of a 
very simple nature. He is likewise without a gall-bladder, 
showing that the digestion must be continuous, and not 
interrupted by distinct intervals, as in the ruminants and 
carnivora. Nature has thus framed this animal in order 
that he may be at all times able to exert his utmost speed, 
which he could not do with the mass of provender in his 
stomach which is carried by the cow or sheep. The same 
provision is shown in the udder of the mare, which is not 
larger than that of the goat or sheep. 

(7) 



O THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

II. The Arab Horse. — With the ancient horse we 
have little to do, until we come to one of his descendants — 
the modern Arab— and here only so far as the latter has 
stamped his impress upon those breeds that are to-day 
among the most valuable. The thoroughbred horse of 
(xreat Britain and America owes much of his value to the 
infusion of the Arab and the Barb blood of 150 to 200 
years ago. Not only has the Arab modified for good the 
old English racing-horse, but the latter's progeny — the 
thoroughbred — has left his impress, more or less, upon 
every valuable modern English horse. 

III. The Thoroughbred. — We present an illustra- 
tion to elucidate this subject, and quote the description 
by " Stonehenge " of the proportions and component parts 
of the horse; it being understood that reference is had 
only to the racer, the hunting-horse (modified racing- 
horse), and the better class of driving-horses; but by no 
means the draft-horse. This scale is drawn in inches, and 
in the outline the horse is supposed to be fifteen hands 
three inches, or sixty-three inches high. The measure- 
ments are the average of those carefully taken 'from six 
horses considered to be of perfect symmetry. Two of 
these were celebrated stallions, two thoroughbred hunters, 
and two chargers of great value. 

Inches. Inehe-. 

Height at withers and croup . . 08 From the withers to the hip . . 22 
Length from shoulder-point t< > From the stifle to the -point of 

quarter m the hock, in the attitude shown 

From the lowest part of chest to in the plan 38 

the ground :Hi Fi-om the root of tail to stifle- 

From the elbow-point to the joint 26 

ground 39 From the point of the hock to 

From the withers to the pole, just the ground 2214 

behind the ears, in a straight Length of arm from the elbow 

line 30 to the pisiform-bone . . . . 19]4 

The .same measured along the crest 32 From the pisiform-bone to the 

Length of head 22 ground 191^ 

Width across the forehead . . . 9^4 
Girth varie-s from 76 to 79. 

Circumference of fore cannon-bone, 'iM, 8, 8, 8, S]4, and 9 inches. 
Circumference of arm just below the elbow, 16}^ to 18 inches. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



9 



On comparing these measurements with those of 
Eclipse, as recorded by St. Bel, it will appear that there is 
some considerable variation from those of that celebrated 
horse, which he is said to have measured during life, and 
to have also checked his dimensions after death. Thus, 
though Eclipse was very low before, and yet was sixty-six 
inches high, his head was twenty-two inches long, being 
the same as the average length of the six horses given by 




Proportions of the Hor.se. 

Walsh, though they are three inches lower at the withers, 
and at least five inches lower at the croup. Again, though 
thus shown to be particularly short, it must have been of 
extraordinary width; for, according to the same authority, 
it measured one foot across below the eyes; but, as Mr. 
Percivall remarks, this must be a mistake for above the eyes. 
Indeed, he can not help thinking, in accordance with the 
opinions of the above distinguished English veterinarian, 



10 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



that in other respects " there appears some discordance in 
his admeasurements" of Eclipse. Nevertheless, it may safely 
be assumed, according to Mr. Percivall's summing up, that 
*' he was a big horse in every sense of the word; he was tall 
in stature, lengthy and capacious in body, and large in his 
limbs. For a big horse, his head was small, and partook of 
the Arabian character. His neck was unusually long; his 




Points of the Horse. 
a, Muzzle; b, Face; c. Forehead: d, Jowl; e, Poll; /, Crest; g, Withers; 
h. Windpipe orthrapple; /, Back; j, Point of the shoulder; fc, Breast or chest; 
/, Fore-arm; vulgo, arm; m, Knee; n, Cannon-bones; o, Fetlocks; p, Small 
pasterns; g. Large pasterns; r, Hoofs; s, Heels; t, Elbow; it, Girth; v. Flank; 
n\ Sheath; .r, Scrotum; y, Hocks; z, Coronets; A, Hip; B, Croup or nunp; 
C, Dock; D, Quarter; E, Thigh; J', Hamstring; G, Point of the hock; H, Loins; 
I. Gullet; J, Shoulder; K, Arm (.proper); L, Barrel (the ribs); M, Stifle. 

shoulder was strong, sufficiently oblique, and, though not 
remarkable for. not deficient in depth, his chest was cir- 
cular; he rose very little in his withers, being higher 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 11 

behind than before; his back was lengthy, and over the 
loins roached; his quarters were straight, square, and 
extended; his limbs were lengthy and broad, and his 
joints large; in particular his arms and thighs were long 
and muscular, and his knees and hocks broad and well 
formed." 

The points of the horse are no less important as a care- 
ful study. The outlines are from a celebrated English race- 




imported Sir Archy (Thoroughbred). 

horse, and the figures accompanying will give a correct 
idea of the various parts as seen from the outside. 

As showing the characteristics of the thoroughbred 
horse, we introduce a picture of Sir Archy, drawn from life. 
It represents a model that has, to-day, few, if any, supe- 
riors for stamina; a horse of great bone, muscle, and gen- 



12 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



eral substance, including eminent style, and the power to go 
long distances at a terrific pace. The sire of Sir Archy 
was the imported horse Diomed; his dam, the imported 
mare Castianira. He was undoubtedly among the very 
best of American horses, in the early part of the century, 




Ethan Allen 



when staying qualities were held in high esteem. The 
model is a good study for any horse, big or little, except 
the draft-horse. A reference to the English Stud Book 
will show his high lineage. 

IV. The Trotting-Horse.— The trotting-horse is 
distinctively American. No other country has ever been 
able to compete with us in the production of this wonder- 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 13 

ful descendant of the thoroughbred. Among the trotting 
stock of forty j^ears ago, the Morgan attained great celeb- 
rity; but to-day, they can not hold their own with the 
better bred. As road-horses, they were unimpeachable; 
and, probably, they were the best pony-horses America has 
ever produced. Handsome, active, sound, good for an 
all-day or an every-day drive, docile, yet of great spirit 
and mettle, courageous and intelligent to an eminent 
degree. The real origin of the horseis unknown, notwith- 
standing the earnest efforts to arrive at his lineage. That 
the strain conies of thorough-blood on one side, there is no 
doubt. Among the more elegant and meritorious of this 
breed is Ethan Allen, by Morgan Black Hawk; dam, a white 
mare, said to have been of Messenger blood; and hence 
we give his portrait as a model of a fast-going, pony-built, 
most stylish horse. 

V. The Modern Trotting-Horse. — In this later 
day, however, the trotting-horse and the rich man's road 
and driving horse must have, first of all, speed, and then 
all the style that can be gotten into him. To accomplish 
this, there is required the best breeding for stamina, speed, 
and elegance combined that can possibly be obtained. 
These qualities are to be found in the descendants of " im- 
ported Messenger," through the great Rysdyk's Hamble- 
tonian. Hambletonian was not a handsome horse, but he 
had wonderful make-up in bone, sinew, and muscle. He 
was descended, on the male side, from " imported Messen- 
ger," a thoroughbred, through his dam, Mambrino, and 
Mambrino's son, Abdallah, out of a mare of unknown 
blood, which, in turn, got Rysdyk's Hambletonian out of a 
mare by "imported Bellfounder," the latter being known in 
his day, in England, as the Norfolk Trotter. Through Rys- 
dyk's Hambletonian, on the male side, America has the 



14 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



Volunteers, Edward Everetts, Alexander's Abdallahs, 
Almonts, Messenger Durocks, Sentinels, Dictators, and 
many others, all of which have taken their names from their 
respective celebrated sires. The best trotters of to-day are 




Rysdyk's Hambletonian. 

all of this original Messenger blood, though of late years 
there has been a great infusion of thorough-blood running 
through the female lines. Hambletonian was foaled in 
1849, bred in Orange County, N. Y., and died March 26, 
1876. 



PART II. 
DRAFT-HORSES. 



I. Old American Types.— While the American 
trotting-horse has gained a world-wide celebrity, it is the 
draft-horse, more than any other, that concerns the farmer. 
This class it is that moves the city and the country traffic, 
and is no less valuable for farm purposes. Among those now 
practically extinct is the Vermont draft-horse, a wonderful 
horse of half a century ago, and up to i860; a horse sixteen 
hands high, rather over than under, pony-built, honest, 
active, handsome, and full of courage at a pull, whether the 
load started at the first attempt or only after a series of 
efforts. Under a good driver, the load was sure to come 
eventuall}^ and for the reason that this kindly dispositioned 
and mighty horse — for his inches — never flinched at each 
successive pull. 

Another wonderful horse, no longer known as a distinct 
breed, is the Conestoga, an illustration of which we give 
as he was known to the writer fifty years ago. There is no 
doubt that this great horse was originally of Flemish blood. 
In the early part of the century, the Conestogas made up 
the seven and nine horse teams that were capable of pulling 
a thousand pounds to the horse over the Alleghanies, 
between Pennsylvania and New York City. As modified 
by the German settlers of Pennsylvania, the Conestoga was 
a big horse, sixteen and a half to seventeen hands high, 
docile, muscular, strong-boned, and honest at a pull. The 
portrait given furnishes a fair idea of his appearance. The 

a5) 



16 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



somewhat crooked hind limbs, the great bone and sinew, 
together with the wonderful muscle and an even temper, 
made him, at that early date, a model of what a draft-horse 
should be — light-actioned, active, and honest at a long up- 
hill pull, and good at holding back on a down grade. 

II. The Modern Draft - Horse.— The old-time 
horse had, however, to give way to the modern, distinct 




The Conestoga Horse. 

breeds as now known. The English and the French draft- 
horses are superior, in general respects, to those that have 
preceded them. The Clydes, Shires, and Suffolks of Eng- 
land, the Percherons and Normans of France, and the 
heavy Belgians, with perhaps the Cleveland Bays, fill the 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 17 

bill perfectly for light and heavy draft. The Cleveland 
Bay, however, comes nearer to the coach-horse than to 
the draft; hence, he will be considered under the head of 
" coach- horses." 

III. English Draft-Horses. — The Shire Horse. 
— Normandy and Flanders are, without doubt, the original 
homes of the draft-horse of England. The Shires, Clydes, 
and Suffolks from England, and the Percheron, Norman, 
and Belgian from Europe, have filled this country fairly 
well with the best draft-horses of the world. It will not 
be possible, in the scope of this book, to enter into a his- 
tory of the several breeds. We purpose, by illustrating 
models of the best of the above classes, to give object- 
lessons rather than extended descriptions. 

The draft-horses of England owe their origin to the 
continent. They have all been more or less modified by 
an occasional infusion of stanch thorough-blood; while 
careful selection and good feeding have made them the 
peers of any horses on earth for heavy draft. Hence, the 
English draft-horse — like the thoroughbred — "may be of 
any color if he be a good horse." 

I. The English Shire Horse. — The Shires run to gray, 
bay, and brown. A society was organized in 1879, in 
England, and a stud book of the Shire — at that time 
sometimes called the cart-horse — was published. In the 
introduction to the first volume of the " Shire Stud Book," 
Mr. R. S. Reynolds, M. K. C, V. S., makes the following 
statements regarding different original types: 

It is perhaps worthy of observation that there were, 
and still remain, some specimens of three apparently dis- 
tinct types of draft-horses, exemplified by differences in the 
local distribution of long hair, 

ist. Horses having the upper lip garnished with a long, 
thick mustache, considered at one time a distinguishing 




(18) 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 19 

characteristic of the Lincolnshire horse. The color of 
these appendages is always black, white, or a mixture of the 
two, and invariaby corresponds with the hue of the skin 
from which they spring. 

2d. Horses having the lips, muzzle, and eyelids desti- 
tute of hair. The skin in these situations, being either 
entirely bald or covered with exceedingly fine down, is 
almost invariably flesh-colored, sometimes marked with 
small dark spots and blotches. Specimens of this type 
may possibly have originated the appellations " bald horse " 
and "bald-faced horse." 

3d. Horses having a long tuft of hair growing from the 
front of each knee, and rarer examples having also a similar 
growth (quite distinct from the ordinary hair of the back 
of the cannons) from the hind part of the hock, just below 
its point. Animals of this type are now seldom seen. In 
my experience they are more frequently met with in Wales 
than in the English shires, though no reason can be assigned 
why that is so. It is found that these peculiar hirsute 
growths invariably accompany a luxuriant development of 
long hair in its ordinary situations, and generally a more 
than ordinary strength of bone below the knees and hocks. 
Sex does not appear to exert any influence in determining 
the special characteristics of any of the three types — stall- 
ions, mares, and geldings being equally prone to inherit 
these peculiarities from progenitors similarly possessed. 

As a model of the English Shire horse of the first 
quality, the celebrated sire. Honest Tom, will suffice. 

2. The Clydesdale Horse. — It is not necessary to 
go into the history of the Clydesdale horse. He is a good 
horse wherever found, and, like any other horse, is good, 
whatever be the characteristic color. In Scotland they 
were mentioned as far back as 1352. The editor of the 
" Clydesdale Stud Book " does not say whence they came, 
but Scotch authorities are generally agreed that the breed 
was brought toward perfection in the Upper Ward of Lan- 
arkshire. In volume i, of the " Clydesdale Stud Book," we 
find the following bearing on the point: 



20 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

Sometime between 1715 and 1720, John Paterson, of 
Lochlyoch, on the estate and in the parish of Carmichael, 
grandson of one John Paterson, who died at Lochlyoch in 
1682, went to England and brought from thence a Flemish 
stallion, which is said to have so greatly improved the 
breed in the Upper Ward as to have made them noted all 
over Scotland. The Lochlyoch mares were famous in the 
Upper Ward during the latter half of the last and the first 
two decades of the present century; and a Mrs. Paterson, 
of Lochlyoch, mother of the present tenant of Drumalbin, 
now ninety-seven years of age, still has recollection of a 
noted black mare from which many of the best stock in the 
Upper Ward are descended. The family tradition is 
strongly supported by the fact that the Patersons were in 
the habit of noting down important agricultural items from 
a very early period; and the present representative of 
the family, Mr. Paterson, of Drumalbin, has in his posses- 
sion a family tree of all the descendants of that John 
Paterson who died in 1682. In the year 1836, in reference 
to a day's plowing given to one of the Patersons on leav- 
ing Lochlyoch for Drumalbin, the following remarks 
appeared in an Edinburgh newspaper, from which it will 
be seen that their claim to being the founders of the breed 
was then recognized. After descanting on the merits of 
the family and kindred topics, the writer proceeds: "And 
it may here be worthy of remark, that it was a brother of 
Mr. Paterson's grandfather who brought the notable stall- 
ion from England to Lanarkshire — the sire of the famous 
Clydesdale breed of horses of which the county has been 
so long and justly proud." 

What were the distinguishing features of the native 
breed previous to the introduction of the Flemish horse, 
about 1 7 15, can not now be definitely determined, but 
there can be little doubt that they are mostly of English 
origin, and of a mixed character. The old "drove-road" 
from Scotland to England crosses the Clyde at Hyndford 
Bridge, and leads across the hills by Carmichael and Craw- 
fordjohn — the very center of the then horse-breeding dis- 
trict; and the intercourse which the farmers would thus 
have with their neighbors from the south, and the amount 
of traffic done by pack-horses, would doubtless allow of 




(21) 



22 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

many opportunities for selecting animals calculated to 
improve the breed. 

Lochlyoch mares were generally browns and blacks, 
with white faces and a little white on their legs; they had 
gray hairs in their tails, occasional gray hairs over their 
bodies, and invariably a white spot on their bellies, this 
latter being recognized as a mark of distinct purity of 
blood. 

Bay, brown, and black are prevailing colors, but there 
are grays and chestnuts, and some distinctly sorrel. Like 
many of the Shires, white markings on the face, legs, and 
feet are characteristic, as also is the long, fine, glossy hair 
from the knee and hock to the fetlock, this being regarded 
as a mark of high quality and blood. The engraving rep- 
resents a mare of the highest quality. 

3. The Suffolk Punch. — Only three breeds of Eng- 
lish draft-horses have gained celebrity in America. Of 
these, two have been already mentioned. There is, there- 
fore, one more English draft-horse that calls for notice 
in this connection. It is the Suffolk Punch. This is a 
compactly built, short-limbed horse, as a rule, of great mus- 
cular conformation, looking rather light-boned, some speci- 
mens being imperfect in the feet. In some parts of Eng- 
land they are regarded with favor, but comparatively few 
have been imported to America. 

IV. French Horses. — i. The Percheron. — What- 
ever be the origin of what is now known as the Percheron 
horse, there is little doubt that he is descended from Ori- 
ental blood. In fact, it is a matter of history that when 
the Saracens invaded France, and were overthrown by 
Charles Martel, with great slaughter, the camp equipage, 
the cavalry horses, and the various other spoils of this bar- 
barian host of 300,000 men fell into the hands of the 
victors. This was in A. D. 752. The fine Arabs and 
Barb horses thus captured were carried to France, and 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 23 

there bred upon the larger horses of that country. Upon 
the return of the Crusaders, other Oriental blood was in- 
troduced into the horses of France; subsequently, there 




Percheron Horse, Brilliant. 



were other infusions of Arab blood, and, as late as 1820, 
two Arab stallions, Godalphin and Gallipole, were im- 
ported and used under the direction of the French govern- 



24 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

ment. Theresultof all this was the production, in La Perche, 
of horses from fifteen to sixteen hands high, weighing from 
1,200 to 1,400 pounds, and strong and untiring on the 
inferior roads of that day. They were good for eight 
miles an hour, pulling the heavy diligences then in use, 
and attracted attention wherever seen. The French gov- 
ernment and the people of France were naturally proud of 
these horses, and to-day the descendants are among the 
most active, docile, and able draft-horses in America. 

The engraving of Brilliant, imported by Mr. M. Dun- 
ham, from a drawing by Rosa Bonheur, shows one of the 
best specimens of this famous breed. The characteristic 
color of the Percherons is dapple-gray, becoming lighter 
with age. They are, however, now bred of other colors, 
including black. In France, Brilliant gained high honors, 
and, in the United States, undeniably stands as one of the 
best examples of this famous breed of draft-horses. 

2. The French Draft-Horse. — Another division of 
the French races of draft-horses is now known by the 
above specific designation. Originally, all the French 
draft-horses were known as Normans and Percherons; 
afterward many were known as Percheron-Normans; then 
the heavier horses were divided from the lighter horses of 
Perche and designated as Normans. Still later, they were 
known, as they are to-day, by the name of French Draft- 
Horses. They have a stud book of their own. This larger 
class of horses is said to have originated north of the 
River Seine, and, in common with the Percheron, its repre- 
sentatives owe their increased size to Flemish blood. They 
are among the most magnificent specimens of the equine 
race. Modified and refined by careful breeding and 
selection, they compare well in weight with the best 
examples of the great Belgian and the Boulonnais horses 
of France'. 




French Draft-Horse. 



(25> 



2G THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

3. The Boulonnais Horse. — In relation to this breed, 
we append the translation of the special committee of the 
Illinois State Board of Agriculture, from the introduction 
of the "Boulonnais Stud Book," which is as follows: 

The Boulonnais district in ancient France was part of 
the country of Picardy, in the North of France, between 
the rivers Ada on the north and Canche on the south. 
This district is about sixty kilometers long and thirty wide. 

The peculiar nature of its soil, rugged and hilly, for a 
long period made intercourse with neighboring districts 
difficult and rare. This fact has had great influence upon 
the local manners and habits of the people, which have 
been preserved unchanged for many years; and it explains 
the fixity of breeds, which have remained for centuries 
without mixing with other races. 

This district of Boulonnais has for a very long time 
been a center of production from which young colts are 
obtained and taken to neighboring districts, such as Picardy 
and Normandy. Very often, after leaving their native 
districts, these colts lose their real name and are called by 
the Paris dealers after the districts in which they were 
raised, "Cauchois," or "Augeron" horses. 

The example given by the most important breeding 
districts in England and in France, of establishing stud 
books, is now being followed by the Boulonnais breed- 
ers. The Boulonnais is universally recognized as a well- 
defined breed, having distinct features and remarkable 
characteristics peculiar to it; and it therefore has the 
right to possess a stud book. 

4. Coach-Horses. — There are but two breeds of 
horses that may be distinctively classed as coach-horses. 
These are the Cleveland Bays of England and what are now 
known as the French Coach-Horses. Both are active, 
stylish, compact horses, the best of each breed making the 
finest coach-horses, while those that are somewhat inferior 
prove most valuable for express and other city teams, 
where style is desired rather than heavy draft. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



37 



The Cleveland Bay was formerly held in high repute in 
England, but the breed was allowed to lapse. As regen- 
erated to-day, he is stylish, and probably a better horse 




Cle\elaud Bay Hoi be. 

than the Cleveland of the last century, containing, as he 
does, a considerable infusion of thorough-blood. 

The French Coach-Horse, like the Cleveland Bay, owes 
his style and muscular activity to the blood of the English 
thoroughbred. The breeding has been under the distinct 
patronage of the Government of France, and the outcome 



28 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

is a horse, high-stepping, muscular, and stylish, sixteen 
hands, and over, in height; the peer, probably, of any horse 
in the world for the purpose for which he is intended. It 




has been said that the locomotive drove the Cleveland Bay 
out of existence; be that as it may, the wealth of more 
modern times has demanded stylish horses for the family 
coach. The demand has been met in the modern Cleveland 
Bay and the modern French Coach-Horse. 



PART III. 
PONIES, ASSES, AND MULES. 



I. Ponies. — Any undersized horse that is compact and 
muscular is termed a pony-horse; but there are ponies that 
are so termed distinctively. All northern countries have 
pony-horses. The mustang, the Canadian, the Indian horses, 
the Shetland, the Iceland, and the Exmoor (English) are all 
individual types. The characteristics of the Exmoor are 
presented in the illustration. Many of the more dimin- 
utive are now bred very fine, to meet the demands of 
wealthy persons who desire these little animals for their 
children. One of the most famous for courage, speed, 
going long journeys, and exhibiting wonderful endurance 
on hard fare is, without doubt, the Canadian pony, now, 
unfortunately, seldom found in his old-time form; but the 
late William Henry Herbert (Frank Forrester) has made it 
easy for us to judge what he was like fifty years ago, when 
he says that the thoroughbred Canadian horse is a perfect 
model, on a small scale, of the Percheron horse. The 
Canadian pony is a degenerate Canadian, if, indeed, the 
smaller pony, hardened by exposure, may be so-called — 
degenerate. Sagacious, honest, enduring, and capable of 
driving forty to fifty miles, day in and day out, over the 
roughest of roads and corduroy-bridges. 

II. Asses and Mules. — From time immemorial the 
ass has been used, and was probably one of the first 
burden-bearing animals to be domesticated. After the 
domestication of the horse, the mule — a hybrid between 

(29) 




Exmoor (English) Ponies and Foal. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 31 

the ass and mare — was used for the saddle, the horse 
being reserved for war. The ass is more essentially an 
animal for hot, arid climates, and the mule less adapted to 
cold climates than is the horse; hence, we find the mule in 
increasing numbers, and more at home, as we go south, and 
correspondingly rare as we reach rigorous winter climates. 
While the mule, as a worker, is more patient than the 
horse, he is more timid at the sight of unfamiliar objects. 
Another peculiarity of mules is, that they must become 
accustomed to a change of work before they will take 
kindly to it. By virtue of their patience, they are entirely 
tractable in the cultivation of crops, for instance, and less 
liable to do damage with the feet. When treated kindly, 
but firmly, they are in nowise dangerous to the driver; in 
fact, their liability to kick at strangers is due more to 
timidity than to any other cause. As to breeding, that 
question will be taken up under the head of "Care and 
Management." 



PART IV. 
HYGIENE, CARE, AND MANAGEMENT. 



I. Stable Drainage. — In its relation to liygiene, the 
subject of stable drainage is among the most important, and 
this, too, apart from ventilation, a subject of equal impor- 
tance; for, without proper ventilation, no system of drainage 
will avail much. The average architect of barns and stables 
too often leaves the above factors out of his plans and cal- 
culations; hence, it is absolutely necessary that the breeder 
should understand the principles of drainage and ventila- 
tion, in order that he may be able to give advice, and also 
to correct errors when found. For want of this knowledge, 
the proper hygienic effects can not be produced; neither can 
sanitary measures be fully carried out. In the case of all 
animals kept in confinement, whether in health or disease, 
drainage and ventilation may, in fact, be called ground 
rules. 

In city stables, it is of the first importance. City 
horses, as a rule, seldom breathe perfectly pure air, unless 
they are taken out for labor or exercise; yet no other 
animals under our care require so much air, and that of 
absolute purity. Furthermore, the horse is the animal that 
must necessarily come oftenest under the care of the 
owner, one reason therefor being that he is the most valua- 
ble of our domestic animals; another and more general 
cause is to be found in the purely artificial conditions under 
which the horse is kept, and the exhausting nature of the 
labor required of him. 

(32) 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 33 

Stable drainage is most intimately related to hygiene in 
stable management, and it is also one of the most valuable 
auxiliaries in the assistance it renders ventilation in keep- 
ing the air pure. Much may be accomplished by strict 
attention to the regular and thorough cleaning of stables. 
It is only half performed when manure is dumped outside 
and allowed to accumulate, heat, rot, and poison the air 
with its fumes. It is still worse if the liquid matter of the 
stable be allowed to soak the floors, drip through and sat- 
urate the earth below, and become putrescent, thus giving 
rise to the most deadly germs. 

A substance perfectly dry does not change; neither 
does a substance when frozen solid; but these conditions 
can not be practically reached. It is under the influence 
of heat and moisture that organic substances decay. Place 
any moist vegetable substance in a compact heap; in a 
short time heat ensues, and fermentation is followed by 
decay. During this process, the gaseous elements are set 
free, and at length nothing remains but charcoal, or the 
ashes, for the process of decay is simply combustion 
through the absorption of oxygen by the mass consumed. 
The same operation is as surely going on, but more slowly, 
in the forest, although it may take a hundred years to de- 
compose a fallen oak. It is going on all about us in 
marshes and other places where vegetation is rife or accu- 
mulates. It is not perceptibly felt, for the reason that it is 
constantly being dissipated in that great reservoir of fer- 
tility and reconstruction — the air. It is only in confined 
situations that the emanations become inimical to health, 
and even deadly to the system. 

Let us take one phase of earth saturation and its effects 
from want of stable and house drainage. 

At first there is little difficulty. Earth is an absorber, 
and fast holder, to a certain degree, of liquid and gaseous 



34 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

emanations when dry. When saturated with moisture to 
the drainage point, they are passed along with the water 
of drainage until an outlet is reached — a well, spring, or 
stream — which is contaminated to a degree in accordance 
with the quantity discharged. Here is the secret of the 
contamination of city wells by house and stable drainage, 
from the want of sewage, or from imperfect sewage. Where 
there is no drainage to stables, therefore, dry earth forms 
not only a cheap, but valuable absorbent; and a peculiarity 
of earth absorption is, that saturated and again dried, its 
power of holding deleterious matter returns; so that the 
same earth may be used over and over again until its max- 
imum capacity of holding other matters is reached. A few 
figures will show the relative powers of absorption of va- 
rious earths, and hence will be valuable as showing also 
their relative power to hold organic matter. 

According to the experiments of Shubler, it has been 
found that loo pounds of dry sand will hold by attraction, 
or take up, 25 pounds, or one-fourth of its weight m water; 
a loamy soil, 40 pounds; a clay loam, 50 pounds, and pure 
clay, 70 pounds of water. Hence, it is readily seen how small 
a quantity of pulverized dry clay is necessary to absorb 
the daily evacuations of liquid excrement in the stable. 
The horse, for instance, passes a large amount by invisible 
perspiration, voids relatively little as urine — an average of 
about three gallons daily. Hence, here is shown a simple 
means, in the country, of getting rid of the liquid excrement, 
and at the same time of saving for manure the most valuable 
portion. In the case of sick animals, this means is no less 
valuable, where the patient, as it should be, is kept in a box- 
stall. The next best means is the absorption of the liquids 
by means of straw — oat-straw being the best, for, being soft, 
it absorbs moisture more quickly than wheat or rye straw. 
Dry sawdust, when it may be obtained, is also of much value. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



35 



II. Ventilation and Bedding-. — One thing should 
be constantly impressed upon farmers — the value, and 
economy as well, of plenty of bedding for animals. The 
plea of scarcity of material can not for a moment be 




Illustrating Stable Drainage in Cities. 

admitted. No more bedding is daily soiled when the ani- 
mal has plenty than when there is little. This is evident at 
a glance to the individual who gives the matter attentive 
thought. Besides, if bedding material is really scarce on 
the farm, the soiled straw may be dried and reused. 



36 THE PRATRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

We come now to the subject of drainage in its relation 
to the welfare of animals, both in health and sickness. 
There are numerous disabilities arising from want of drain- 
age, and the constant saturation of wooden and earth 
floors with the liquid excrement of animals. In drainage, 
the first necessity naturally is, that the stalls must be ar- 
ranged with reference to whether the animal be male or 
female. In the case of males, the lowest part of the stall 
must be between the fore and hind feet. In the case of 
female animals, it must be just at the rear. For horses, the 
floor of the stall may be cut across, midway from the point 
where the fore and hind feet rest, with a shallow groove, 
say four inches wide, and descending from the sides to the 
center, when it ends in a grating fine enough to prevent the 
escape of the bedding, etc. Here it falls into a pioj run- 
ning under each stall and connecting with each, having in- 
clination sufficient to carry away the moisture quickly and 
emptying on the open ground, as far away as possible from 
the stable; nevertheless, it is worse than folly to adopt a 
system of underground stable drainage unless there is an 
abundance of water for flushing the pipes. In the country, 
this is difficult to obtain; hence, sewage drainage is not 
practiced except in cities having public water works. The 
illustrations will show the idea we wish to convey. One of 
these represents stalls arranged for gelding and for mare as 
to position for gathering the liquid. Neglect often arises 
from the idea generally entertained that stable emanations 
are not inimical to human beings. It is, however, a serious 
annoyance, as must be all disagreeable odors, and then it is 
very injurious to carriages, affecting the varnish as well as 
impregnating the cushions with a subtle odor, and eventu- 
ally rotting them. 

When stable drains can be attached to a regular sewer- 
age system, or be run into a properly ventilated wasting cess- 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE B()t)K. 



37 



pool, there is little or no trouble about vapors and odors; 
but where the liquid has to drain into a close cesspool, con- 
siderable thought and ingenuity are required. 

It need hardly be told that stables ought not to be 
drained into the same cesspool as is the house sewage. As 
there is only liquid matter to be dealt with, only one cess- 




Stable Drainage, Cateh-basiu and Ventilator. 

pool is necessary; but this one, to be complete, should be 
fitted with a movable pump and an air-shaft ventilation. 
All the drains must be made water-tight with cement, and 
the air-shafts should be made of cast-iron pipe not less than 
two inches caliber, and four inches is better. Zinc cor- 
rodes rapidly when used about the stable. 



38 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

The illustration, which explains itself, shows an arrange- 
ment of a drain from a stable with ventilation of the 
catch-pit that will prevent all foul odors. It is a plan 
largely adopted in London. 

III. Hygiene and the Stable. — In the drainage of 
soil for agricultural purposes, a very slight descent suffices 
to carry water. Round tile should always be used, and a 
fall of not less than eight inches in loo feet secured, for the 
drainage of stables. 

Where the drainage is not sufificient, or where there is 
no drainage, such means must be employed as may best 
counteract the evils as they present themselves. Among 
these should be the most thorough cleansing possible, and 
the use of deodorizing and disinfectant agents, as the case 
may seem to require; for the means to be used will, of 
course, depend upon whether putridity has occasioned 
deadly gases or not. An examination, therefore, of some 
of the many substances used for one or the other purpose 
will not be out of place here. 

Deodorization is the driving away, covering up, or 
removal of disagreeable or noxious odors. A disinfectant 
is an agent capable of neutralizing morbific efifluvia, or 
the cause of infection. It must be borne carefully in mind 
that the destruction or covering of odors is not necessarily 
disinfection. In fact, deodorizing, as generally used, is 
often the replacing of one odor by another, as in the case 
of burnt sugar, vinegar, chloride of lime, carbolic acid, etc. 
The two latter are really disinfectants. Neither are un- 
pleasant odors, necessarily detrimental to health. So, 
also, an infectious atmosphere may present to the senses 
little or no cause of alarm. In fact, the most deadly 
typhoid germs may be present in the water we drink. It 
is clear and bright to the eye; the sense of smell can 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 39 

detect no odor; to the taste it is perfect, and it will sparkle 
in the glass like the purest spring-water, yet may be deadly 
to drink. Simple odors may not be noxious; animal odors 
are not so unless one is confined in their atmosphere; but 
when they are disorganized and putrefy, they are always 
dangerous. Here, again, let it be reiterated: In stables 
the danger is not from the fresh evacuation of healthy ani- 
mals, but from their continued putrefaction in and of the 
substance saturated with them. 

So far as simple deodorization is concerned, there is no 
better agent, easily attainable, than dry pulverized clay, or 
strong clay loam. Charred sawdust, or pulverized char- 
coal, is also one of the best, but difficult to obtain. These 
are chiefly valuable from their absorptive qualities. Pul- 
verized gypsum is another cheap and valuable absorbent; 
and gypsum acts mechanically, and also chemically. That 
is to say, loo pounds of gypsum (unburned) will fix or 
form sulphate with nearly twenty pounds of ammonia, and 
thus sulphate of ammonia, and, of course, carbonate of lime, 
is formed. Hence its value in preventing the fumes of 
ammonia from escaping in any manner, as horse manure, 
for instance, containing it. Gypsum is also decomposed 
by carbonate and muriate of barytys, the carbonates of 
strontia, potash, soda, and of ammonia; and also by 
oxalic and humic acid. Hence, it may be applied freely 
when any of these susbtances are suspected. For drains, 
cesspools, or any confined place that gives off the smell 
of rotten eggs (sulphureted hydrogen), copperas, in fine 
powder, will be indicated, both on account of its cheapness 
and certainty of action. Chloride of lime and carbolic acid 
in solution may also be indicated when their odor will not 
be objectionable. To detect whether the air is pure or 
impure, dampen a white linen cloth in a solution of nitrate 
of lead, and hang it in the suspected atmosphere. If the 



40 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

cloth does not become discolored, the air ma)' be considered 
pure. To disinfect drinking-water, Condie's preparation 
will be indicated. This is composed of crude perman- 
ganate of potash in the proportion of half an ounce to 
half a pint of water, A teaspoonful to a barrel of water 
will sweeten it, and if it is continued to be added until a 
faint tinge of color is exhibited, all injurious organic mat- 
ter will be destroyed. To disinfect a room, put a few tea- 
spoonfuls in the apartment, and renew as often as the 
solution loses its color. The quantity will be indicated by 
the size of the apartment. 

For ordinary use, the following articles stand in 
relation as given, chloride of lime in combination with 
sulphuric acid standing as loo: 

Chloride of lime with sulphuric acid loo.o 

Chloride of lime with sulphate of iron (copperas) 99.0 

Carbolic acid (disinfecting powder) 85.6 

Slacked lime 84.6 

Alum 80.4 

Sulphate of iron (copperas) 76.7 

Chloralum 74.0 

Sulphate of magnesia 57. i 

Permanganate of potash with sulphuric acid 51.3 

IV. Some Causes of Contagion. — Major-General 
Sir F. Fitzwygram, Bart., is one of the latest and best English 
authorities on stable management. Here is what he says 
on the subject: 

When a particular disease runs through a stable, it 
does not by any means follow that it has been introduced 
or spread by infection or contagion. On the contrary, 
faulty stable accommodation, or bad ventilation, or bad 
drainage, or neglect, either collectively or sometimes even 
singly, are often sufficient to develop wide-spread disease 
among all the animals subject to the same cause or causes. 

When a disease breaks out suddenly in a stable, and 
several animals are attacked at once, it usually depends 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 41 

on their all being subjected to the same noxious influence. 
The causes, whatever they may be, usually affect first those 
animals which are weak and predisposed to disease of any 
sort; afterward those which are less predisposed, and ulti- 
mately may affect all in the stable. The disease is then 
said to be, and is by many believed to be, infectious or 
contagious. 

The earlier cases in any such attack do not in general 
arise either from infection or contagion. It must, how- 
ever, be borne in mind that the vitiated atmosphere pro- 
duced by the exhalations and secretions of a number of 
diseased bodies congregated in a badly ventilated place, 
intensify the original cause and lead to the further repro- 
duction of the disease. 

The prevalent ideas regarding infection and contagion, 
though under certain circumstances true, are, nevertheless, 
the source of much mischief; because these agents are 
often accepted as the adequate and irresistible cause of 
disease, and, therefore, no due or sufficiently careful 
search is made for the real and active source. 

Very few cases of disease, either in man or animals, 
are, under good sanitary arrangements, transmitted by 
infection or contagion. Certain predisposing conditions 
are required to enable the poison, whatever it may be, to 
take effect. It requires, for instance, a certain proximity of 
the patient; a confined, unchanged atmosphere, and, as a 
general rule, a delicate, ailing, susceptible subject. If 
these conditions are wanting, diseases seldom spread from 
one animal to another. 

Many complaints, however, which, in a clean, well- 
aired and well-drained, and not overcrowded stable, are 
quite unable to propagate themselves, become infectious 
or contagious under less favorable circumstances. The 
emanations from the sick hang thick and noisome in afoul, 
close, unchanged atmosphere, and by concentration and 
ferment acquire a positive power of disturbing health and 
reproducing disease. 

V. The Care of the Stable. — In country stables, 
there is no excuse for foul odors. Build your stable per- 
fectly tight, but with apertures that may be opened or closed 



4:2 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

at will for the admission of air. The temperature of stables 
in their relation to health is worthy of consideration. The 
proper temperature is undoubtedly from sixty to sixty-five 
degrees. If it is possible, the stable should never go much 
below the freezing-point. The reason is obvious. It oc- 
casions severe loss of vital heat that must be supplied in 
some way. If the body becomes chilled, many functions 
are impaired, digestion especially. Bronchial affections, 
chronic coughs, pneumonia, and many inflammatory diseases 
are apt to arise. If to this is added vitiated air, the most 
serious consequences may arise from blood-poisoning, for 
it is while the animal is in an enforced state of quiescence 
that complications occur. Exercise promotes heat, full 
inflation of the lungs, and the system is enabled to throw 
off morbid action, and excretion is active. If these disa- 
bilities need care to guard against them in health, how 
much more necessary in actual disease ! 

In thus outlining something of the effects of proper ven- 
tilation in its hygienic effects, and the absolute necessity of 
plenty of fresh air, and its careful distribution and equable 
dispersion to prevent drafts or direct impingement on any 
part of the body, we have done all that may be deemed neces- 
sary. There is one thing more, however, to which attention 
may here be directed. We refer to the conservation of heat, 
and particularly for its value in all country districts. The 
hair is given to the animal both as a protection against the 
sun of summer and the cold of winter. The action of sun- 
light is a cumulative one; that is, any substance which, 
taking in its rays will accumulate heat far greater than the 
normal force. Take a glass-covered surface, for instance. 
All rays pass freely through it, but heat is given back 
feebly, hence the confined surface soon becomes intensely 
heated. The hair of animals is a poor conductor of heat. 
Hence, the rays of the sun have comparatively slight effect 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 43 

on the body. In the winter the coat becomes long, and 
the heat of the body is entangled within the hair, and the 
animal constantly carries this bodily heat around with it in 
a still atmosphere; hence the reason why we are little sus- 
ceptible to the influence of cold in a still atmosphere, how- 
ever severe. Let the wind commence blowing, how quick 
the change ! The heat of the body is blown away; and if 
this is accomplished faster than the system can furnish 
heat, first a chill ensues, then stupor, and the animal or 
man certainly succumbs unless shelter is reached. Hence 
the absolute necessity of shelter to bring about the best 
hygienic results to our domestic animals. 

In the treatment of diseased animals, the subject of 
ventilation and drainage becomes of the first importance; 
for unless proper hygienic conditions are present, we can 
not successfully combat disease. 

VI. Stable Ventilation. — The ventilation of a 
stable may be effected by windows on the sides. It must 
be remembered, however, that abnormal exposure to light 
causes distress to the eyes, or one of them, and this induces 
disease and blindness. It is, however, only strong light that 
has this effect. A north light, which is diffused and has no 
bright sun-rays, has very little or no injurious effect in any 
way, and horses may quite safely stand in the full light 
with windows directly in front of them. A great deal of 
trouble is caused by dark stables, in which the horses stand 
in a sort of a twilight, or at times almost complete darkness, 
from which they are brought out into bright sunshine. 
This is painful and injurious to the eyes, and no doubt its 
constant repetition day after day will end in ophthalmia 
and the very common periodical disease of so-called moon- 
blindness, and finally complete blindness. If the windows 
must be necessarily exposed to the sunlight, it is desirable. 



4-4 THE PRAIRIE FARRIER HORSE BOOK. 

perhaps, to shade the light in some way, that a horse may 
not stand in the full glare of it. This may be done by cov- 
ering the glass with white paint, daubed on with the stiff 
ends of the hairs of a brush, so as to give the effect of 
ground glass; or cover them with thick lime-wash in the 
same way. As a rule, stables for both cows and horses 
should be light and airy. Light encourages cleanliness, 
for it exposes dirt and filth, and makes a man ashamed of 
himself. The only precaution needed is to prevent the 
sun's rays from shining directly into the faces of the horses, 
and what is worse, into the stalls sidewise, so as to excite 
one of the eyes only. One way to provide this is: 

The sides are of pine lumber, twenty-six inches long, 
and one foot wide at the broad end, tapering to an inch 
wide at the other end. The wider ends are cut to a seg- 
ment, somewhat as on page 45. Quarter-inch holes are 
bored in the edge of one of these boards. A sash eighteen 
by twenty-six inches, with four lights of glass, is screwed 
to the front edges of the boards. The whole is then hung 
in place by a pair of butts, screwed to the lower side of the 
sash and to a board firmly nailed to the inside of the 
stable, in the rear of a stall. A flat piece of iron, with a 
quarter-inch hole, or a stout screw-eye, is fastened into the 
stable wall directly over one of the sideboards. Through 
this an iron pin is thrust into a hole in the edge of the 
side board, to hold the ventilator at any desired angle. 
When open, of course, a current of air is admitted, ventilat- 
ing the stable without exposing the hor.se to a direct draught. 

A better way, however, is described by " Stonehenge,'' 

as follows: 

All stable windows should be of iron, and if they 
are cast with iron bars six inches apart from center tc 
center, no horse will break the glass. Every other bar 
may be made to project so as to form the framework for 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE HOOK. 



45 



the glass, and in this way serve a double purpose. In 
building new stables, I should always prefer to place the 
windows close to the ceiling and above the mangers, so as 
to give the horse the fresh air where he wants it. If they 
are made to open in a valvular form, as represented below, 
on the same principle as has long been adopted in church 
windows, and as I have for years recommended for lighting 
and ventilating kennels, there is no down-draught, and 
every advantage is obtained from the fresh air without the 
disadvantage which ensues when it blows down upon the 
back or loins. In the engraving, (a) represents the window 
perfectly closed, in the state 
admitting light but no air; (d) 
shows the same window opened 
as far as the framework will 
allow, intermediate degrees 
being regulated by the ratched 
rod {c), which is fixed to the 
upper edge of the frame, and 
catches on the top rail of the 
sash. Iron frames of this shape 
may be obtained by order of 
any iron-founder, or they may 
be made of wood. The glass 
must be guarded with bars, 
either fixed to the sashes them- 
selves or to the framework. It 
will be seen in the figure {/>) 
that I have indicated with an 



C 

Ventilating Windows. 

arrow the direction which the air inevitably takes as it 
enters the stable. Of course these windows may be fixed 
in any wall other than that at the head of the horse, but I 
prefer the latter as being the nearest to the nostrils, where 
the air is wanted for the purpose of respiration. The size 
should be about two feet square. The additional cost is 
very trifling when it is considered that no other openings 
need be provided for the admission of air. 

Having thus provided for the admission of fresh atmos- 
pheric air, the next thing to do is to carry it off, when it has 
been used for the purposes of respiration. It is not safe to 
depend upon the wind for this purpose; and the only remain- 





46 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



ing agent is the diminution in its specific gravity when air 
is warmed by respiration. By taking advantage of this 
principle, the foul air is carried off from the upper parts of 




Ventilating Shaft. 

the Stable if a shaft is fixed there for its passage. Some- 
times a small shaft is introduced over the head of each 
horse; but in practice it is found that one large shaft, a foot 
square or more, will purify a stable containing four or five 
horses. It is better to fix this about the middle of the 
stable, as regards its length, but near the heads of the 

horses, as shown in the sec- 
tion of a stalled stable. The 
tube may be made of wood, 
because it does not condense 
the steam as it ascends nearly 
so much as metal, and there 
is less dropping of water from 
Covered Head of Shaft. it. The Upper end of this 

shaft should be guarded from down-draughts, either by a 
cowl which will turn with the wind, or by a covered 
ventilator on the ridge of the roof. 




THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 47 

Some years ago, in a work entitled " The Farmer's Stock 
Book," the writer summed up the matter as follows: "The 
arrangement of stables is important. The horse-stalls 
should be ample and have every appliance for convenience 
possible. The partitions should be of the most substantial 
character, and the pavement solid and of such material that 
it will not absorb urine. The harness-room should be 
as near the stables as possible, and at the same time in a 
separate room. There should be enough box-stalls, twelve 
feet square, to accommodate the sick horses and the mares 
at foaling-time. We advocate that horses be made as com- 
panionable as possible; that is, they should have a full 
view of each other and a chance to get their noses together, 
except in the case of vicious ones, or those inclined to be 
quarrelsome. These must be kept in stalls of the most 
solid description, with high walls and bars behind to pre- 
vent them from doing damage if they get loose. The 
reason why horses should be able to see about them is, 
there is nothing that will tend sooner to make an intelligent 
animal vicious and dangerous than solitary confinement. It 
will render men desperate. Even the dog kept chained is 
well known for his unreasoning ferocity." 



PART V. 
FEEDING AND GROOMING. 



I. The Care of the Horse. — It is worthy of remark, 
that in the feeding and grooming of horses lies the essence 
of good management; for good work here is the keynote 
of excellence in all care pertaining to the horse. 

The writer of this has gained much information, in 
years past, from a study of Youatt, who, in England, was 
one of the great lights in veterinary practice in the early 
part of the century. 

Youatt's observations, as commented on by Herbert, 
will pretty nearly "fill the bill." We therefore quote his 
remarks in the next department of our subject. 

II. Grooming. — This authority says: "Much need 
not be said to the agriculturist, since custom, and appar- 
ently without ill-effect, has allotted so little of the comb 
and brush to the farmer's horse. The animal that is 
worked all day and turned out at night, requires little more 
to be done to him than to have the dirt brushed off his 
limbs. Regular grooming, by rendering his skin more sen- 
sible to the alteration of temperature and the inclemency 
of the weather, would be prejudicial. The horse that is 
altogether turned out needs no grooming. The dandruff, 
or scruff, which accumulates at the roots of the hair is a pro- 
vision of nature to defend him from the wind and the cold." 

This, however, which may be true and correct as of 
the horse which is turned out every night during the 
greater part of the year, and which feeds only on grass, 

(48) 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 49 

with some slight addition of oats and mashes, certainly is 
not applicable to the farm-horses of the United States, 
which are, for the most part, if not altogether, stabled for 
the greater part of the year, or in winter, at least; fed on 
artificial food; kept warm, to a certain extent; and which, 
of course, must be cleaned daily, especially after severe 
work or exposure to wet, if they are to be kept in health 
and working condition. 

"It is to the stabled horse," Youatt continues, "highly 
fed, and little or irregularly worked, that grooming is of 
the highest consequence. Good rubbing with the brush, 
or the curry-comb, opens the pores of the skin, circulates 
the blood to the extremities of the body, produces free 
and healthy perspiration, and stands in the room of exer- 
cise. No^ horse will carry a fine coat without either 
unnatural heat or dressing. They both effect the same 
purpose, but the first does it at the expense of health and 
strength, while the second, at the same time that it pro- 
duces a glow on the skin, and a determination of the blood 
to it, rouses all the energies of the frame. It would be 
well for the proprietor of the horse if he were to insist 
and to see that his orders are really obeyed; that the 
fine coat in which he and his groom so much delight is 
produced by honest rubbing, and not by a heated stable 
and thick clothing, and, most of all, not by stimulating 
or injurious spices. The horse should be regularly dressed 
every day, in addition to the grooming that is necessary 
after work." 

It is true, in a measure, that the necessity of regular 
dressing, wisping, currying, brushing, and hard rubbing is 
far greater in the case of highly pampered horses, fed in 
the most stimulating manner, principally on grain, kept in 
hot stables, always a little above their work, and ready at 
all times to jump out of their skins from the exuberance 

4 



50 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

of their animal spirit; yet it is necessary to all housed and 
stabled horses; and the farmer, no less than the owner of 
fast trotters, will find his advantage in having his horse 
curried and washed before feeding in the morning, in the 
increased play of his spirit, and in the gayety and fitness 
of the animal for his work; and if, when he brings him 
in at night, reeking with sweat, drenched with rain or 
snow, his thighs and belly plastered with thick mud, and 
his legs covered, as cart-horses' legs mostly are, with thick 
hair, saturated with cold water and clogged with particles 
of mud and sand, he neglects to have him thoroughly 
cleaned, and made dry and comfortable for the night, he 
not only commits an act of gross cruelty, but wholly dis- 
regards his own interest. Unless a horse be cleaned and 
groomed when in such a condition, he can not be kept in 
health; and if he be fed freely when in such a state — 
although the cart-horse is less liable to such ailments, from 
his hardier habits and less impressive constitution — the 
chances are that soon he will be attacked by inflammation 
of the bowels, or lungs, or with spasmodic colic — the race- 
horse, fast trotter, or highly bred and highly fed roadster 
would be so attacked to a certainty — and the failure to 
dry and cleanse the legs of such a horse, especially if 
there be a draft of cold wind blowing upon the heels from 
a crevice under the stable door, as is generally the case in 
common farm stables, will be almost certainly succeeded 
by that troublesome, dangerous, and foul disease known 
as "grease," or more commonly in the United States and 
Canada as "the scratches." 

III. Stable Temperature and Clothing. — It may 

be well to reiterate: the best average heat for a stable 
should be from sixty to not to exceed sixty-five degrees; 
that the air should be normally dry; for if there be any 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK, 51 

moisture about the stables, it will hang about the horses in 
the shape of a mist, and the animals when they are brought 
into the open air, although their skins will be as fine as 
can be imagined, will shiver as if they had just made their 
exit from a warm bath. 

Herbert's advice is that a single good blanket, breast- 
plate, and roller will be a sufficient clothing, though a 
Holland sheet under the woolen rug is very serviceable in 
keeping the skin smooth and the coat unruffled. A hood 
and cover should be added when the horse is taken out for 
slow exercise. It is common in America in winter, in 
unusually cold weather, where horses are expected to be 
driven fast and to have to stand still alternately at shop 
doors or in visiting, to see them clothed, under their har- 
ness, in hoods and blankets. This plan can evidently do 
no good; the animal, while working fast, is as much more 
heated by the covering as he is afterward more protected 
by it when standing still; add to which, if the clothing be, 
as probably it will, saturated with perspiration while the 
animal is in motion, it will be frozen or rendered en- 
tirely cold and clammy so soon as the motion ceases, and 
will, in that state, affect the animal injuriously instead of 
beneficially; just as it would affect a man to wrap him up, 
when sweating profusely, in a heavy, wet overcoat. If 
anything of this sort be required, the only rational way is 
to have the blankets at hand, throw them over the backs of 
the animals and buckle them across their chests so soon 
as they are pulled up, removing them and restoring them 
to a dry place before again getting under way. Such is 
the rationale of out-door clothing. There is, however, no 
objection to the use of a water-proof covering over the loins 
of a horse when he is taken out to be used through the 
whole of a cold, rainy, or sleety day, if the team is to 
be used at an even, moderate gait. 



52 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

To return to the article on grooming: "When the 
weather will permit the horse," continues Mr. Youatt, " to 
be taken out, he should never be groomed in the stable, un- 
less he be an animal of peculiar value, or placed for a time 
under peculiar circumstances. Without dwelling on the 
want of cleanliness when the scurf and dust that are wasted 
from the horse lodge in his manger and mingle with 
his food, experience teaches that if the cold is not too 
great the animal is braced and invigorated, to a degree 
that can not be attained in the stable, by being dressed in 
the open air. There is no necessity, however, for half the 
punishment which many a groom inflicts upon a horse in 
the act of cleaning, and particularly on one whose skin is 
thin and sensitive. The curry-comb should be at all times 
lightly applied. With many horses, its use may be almost 
dispensed with; and even the brush need not be so hard, 
or the points of the bristles so irregular as they often are. 
A soft brush, with a little more weight of the hand, will be 
equally effectual, and a great deal more pleasant to the 
horse. A hair-cloth, while it will seldom irritate or tease, 
will be almost sufficient with horses which have a thin 
skin and which have not been neglected. After all, it is 
no slight task to clean a horse as it ought to be done. It 
occupies no little time, and demands considerable patience, 
as well as dexterity. It will be readily ascertained whether 
a horse has been well dressed by rubbing him with one of 
the fingers. A greasy stain will detect the idleness of the 
groom. When, however, the horse is changing his coats, 
both the brush and the curry-comb should be used as lightly 
as possible." 

IV. Finishing Touches. — In ordinary cleaning, in 
the morning, the head should be first cleaned. The hair 
should be lifted and loosened lightly — not pulled or torn 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 53 

— with the curry-comb, and then rubbed well in all directions, 
both against and across the grain of the hair, as well as with 
it, until it is entirely clear from dust and dandruff. The ears 
should be gently pulled and stripped with the hand from 
the roots to the points; and the whole head should then be 
brushed smoothly and evenly as the hair ought to lie. The 
neck, back, shoulders, loins, croup, and quarters follow ; 
the same plan being used, except that in dressing these 
parts, while the comb is used lightly and dexterously with 
one hand, the brush is employed in removing the scurf 
with the other. The flexures of the skin at the insertion 
of the limbs are parts which require especial care, as the 
dust is most apt to collect in these places. This done, the 
horse must be thoroughly wisped all over with bunches 
of dry straw, till his coat is quite clean and glossy, when it 
may be gone over for the last time with a fine, soft brush. 

This being done, his clothes may be then put on, and 
the legs cleaned in the same manner, and finished off by a 
careful hand-rubbing. Flannel bandages, steeped in cold 
water, well wrung out, and applied loosely to the legs, and 
again covered by a tighter-drawn linen bandage, are often 
of great advantage, after severe work, in keeping down 
and checking inflammation, as well as in fortifying and 
strengthening the sinews when in a sound state, and in 
remedying and alleviating any slight slip or casual strain. 

The way of cleaning when the horse is brought in wet, 
weary, hot, dirty, and exhausted, is nearly identical. The 
ears should be first stripped and pulled, and tlie head made 
comfortable. The dry dirt should be scraped from the 
legs and belly. The legs should be plunged into tepid 
water and have all the dirt washed carefully away; they 
should be then carefully dry-rubbed with wisps of clean 
straw, and tightly swathed in flannel bandages, steeped in 
water as warm as the hand will bear. The whole neck and 




(6). Action in the True Trot. 

(54) 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 55 

body should then — or, if there be sufficient force of hands 
in the stable, at the same time while the legs are being 
arranged— be thoroughly rubbed, till perfectly clean, dry, 
and in a glow of vigorous animal heat, with straw wisps. 
After this they should be lightly curried, brushed, and 
arranged; and then, nor until then, the clothes may be put 
on, the animal fed, his stall well bedded and littered down, 
and himself left to his repose, which, however hard his 
day's work may have been, will, if these precautions be 
taken, be both soft and light. 

Now all this applies especially to horses that are kept 
for pleasure, or for fast work. It applies fully as well to 
such as the farmer expects to sell for these purposes. It is 
no less important, approximately, that care like this be 
given a team that has been given more than ordinarily 
severe labor. 

V. Action of the Horse in Moving.— (^.) Outlines 
indicating positions of the horse in motion, after " Stone- 
henge." From the position of each limb, it will readily 
be seen from the figures how each of the feet are success- 
ively lifted. No. 4 being lifted last. 

(d.) The action in the true trot, which is a true rhyth- 
mic motion regularly, i, 2, 3, 4, is shown on page 54. 

(<f.) The next distinct gait is the canter. It is a 
thoroughly artificial pace, and very tiring to the animal, 
for to acquire this slow gallop the head must be raised and 
the animal thrown more or less on his haunches; and, as in 
walking, trotting, or galloping, the horse may be taught to 
lead with either fore foot, or to change as may be desired 
by the rider, thus resting both man and animal. 

(d.) The next of the natural gaits is the gallop. The 
next illustration shows the correct view of this move- 
ment. This shows what is usually called a hand-gallop. 




(c.) The Canter. 




(d.) Correct View of the Gallop. 

(5(i) 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 57 

When the horse is at full speed, there is simply greater 
extension. 

One other gait is a natural gait of the horse. It is the 
pace, where, instead of there being cross action in the 
motion of the feet, a fore and hind foot are simultaneously 
lifted alternately on each side of the body. This is the 
easiest gait of the horse for the rider, and on perfectly 
smooth ground easy to the horse, since the feet just clear 
the earth in moving; but where the horse is taught to trot 
and pace at will, together they are less fatiguing to the 
horse than any single gait. 

With this, we leave the subject of feeding and groom- 
ing, having added the illustrations showing the action of 
the horse in the walk, trot, canter, and gallop, as being the 
four natural movements of this, the noblest of the servants 
of man. We have mentioned and described the methods 
by which the horse may be kept in the best possible condi- 
tion. The farm-horse does not require this extreme care; 
but this book is not written for those who think the lee-side 
of a stack a fit place for the horse in winter. We are begin- 
ning to appreciate the fact that the best care is the cheap- 
est care. The farmer may modify the plan we have given 
to suit his particular circumstances. 



PART VL 
BONES, MUSCLES, ETC., OF THE HORSE. 



I. Anatomy. — The anatomy of an animal under the 
care of man is worthy of close study. Anatomy has refer- 
ence to the dissection of an organized body. The term is 
usually understood, however, as pertaining to the bony 
formation or skeleton. Comparative anatomy is the rela- 
tion of one animal to another, so far as structure is con- 
cerned. With it we shall have to deal only in instituting a 
comparison between man and the horse. As regards the 
horse, nothing will be considered except the bones and the 
muscles. In order to elucidate these fully, we have had 
engraved, after an English delineator, Mr. B. Waterhouse 
Hawkins, F. L. S., F, G. S., accurate representations of the 
more important parts, and have likewise given the defini- 
tions, thus enabling the reader to get a correct scientific 
idea of the subject. In this connection, we shall follow the 
definitions laid down, translating them when important 
into common nomenclature. 

II. Man and the Horse Compared. — In consid- 
ering the skeleton, reference will be made to other engrav- 
ings for a more critical study. In relation to Plate I, our 
authority says : "The bones comprising the skeleton may 
be divided into two groups, the first comprehending 
the head, neck, and backbone, with the ribs, sternum, and 
haunch-bones — in other words, the vertebral column and 
all those bones which are in immediate connection with it, 
together constituting the framework of the trunk ; the 

(58) 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 59 

second group comprising the bones of the Hmbs or legs, 
divided into a double series of somewhat complicated artic- 
ulations or joints, necessary for the safety of the animal 
under the manifold shocks and strains to which its varied 
and often violent action continually exposes it." 

In Plate 1 is given a view of the entire skeleton of the 
horse, showing the various bones in their natural position 
and relation to one another. The head may, for descript- 
ive purposes, be divided into two parts, the skull and the 
face, each having its own particular bones, whose relative 
size varies in some slight degree in the different breeds, 
and considerably affects the intelligent expression more or 
less to be observed in the face of every horse. These bones 
will be more particularly described in that portion of the 
book relating to the bones of the head and neck. 

The bones composing the vertebral column are divided 
into five groups. 

The cervical vertebra; (PI. 1, Neck ; PI. Ill, Fig. 2), or 
those of the neck, extending from the head to the ribs, are 
seven in number in the horse, as in all other mammalia. 
Eighteen are given to the back, and are called dorsal 
(PI. I, 3) ; these are the only ones bearing the ribs. The third 
group contains six vertebrae, the bwibar (PI. I, 4), or those 
of the loins, situated between those bearing the ribs and the 
haunch-bones. It should be borne in mind, however, that 
the number of ribs is sometimes found to exceed that stated 
above; nineteen, and occasionally twenty, ribs are found in 
the horse ; but in such cases there is no actual increase in 
the number of bones in the vertebral column. The dorsal 
and the lumbar vertebrae together are always twenty-four, 
so that if one or two ribs above the normal number are 
present, thereby increasing the contents of the dorsal series, 
the lumbar vertebrae are proportionately reduced. The 
fourth (PI. I, 5), the sacral (between the haunch and tail), 




(60) 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. Gl 

includes five bones, which are anchylosed or united together 
into one mass, and, thus joined, act as a kind of wedge or 
keystone to the arch formed by the approximation at this 
point of the haunch-bones. Great strength and solidity 
are required here, as the united bones of the haunch, or 
pelvic arch, as they are called by anatomists, are the great 
pivots on which the hinder limbs turn, and by which they 
are enabled to throw forward the whole weight of the 
animal. The remaining vertebrae are the caudal, or tail 
(PI. I, 6), usually fifteen ; they are, however, exceedingly 
subject to variations, to the extent of two or three above or 
below the above number mentioned. 

To recapitulate, the normal contents of each series of 
vertebrae will stand thus: 

Cervical, 7; Dorsal, 18; Lumbar, 6; Sacral, 5; Caudal, 
15 — total, 51. 

The form of these bones varies considerably in the 
different parts of the vertebral column. It will be 
unnecessary, however, to describe them very minutely, as, 
except in the case of those of the back, their shape does 
not conspicuously affect that of the animal. The most 
prominent feature in each dorsal vertebra is the strong 
spinous process or projection on its upper surface. These 
processes are largely developed on the anterior portion of 
the dorsal series, and produce the elevation or prominence 
above the shoulder commonly called the withers. They 
are of considerable importance to the long-necked quad- 
rupeds, from their affording a large surface for the attach- 
ment of the great ligament which supports the head and 
neck. All together they form the ridge of the back. On 
each other side of the dorsal vertebrae, transverse processes 
are situated, articulating with the ribs; and other smaller 
oblique projections serving to unite and fit one vertebra to 
that adjoining. The spinal column has considerable 



63 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

flexibility, as well as very great strength; these essential 
qualities being due to pads of cartilage interposed between 
the several bones, and firmly united to them. Besides 
these, there are ligaments running along the broad under 
surface of the vertebrae; others, again, between the trans- 
verse processes, and similar strengthening ties uniting the 
upright projections or spinous processes, the whole mass 
forming a marvel of strength, lightness, and flexibility. 
The ribs (PI. I, 7), eighteen in number, are joined to the 
transverse processes of the vertebrae, and curve, with some 
variations in their outline and direction, down toward the 
sternum, or breast-bone, to which the first seven or eight of 
them, called the true ribs — the number sometimes varying 
— are attached by their extremities, which, to provide the 
elasticity necessary for the expansion of the chest, are 
composed of cartilage. The remaining ribs are termed 
false ribs, as they have no individual connection with the 
breast-bone; they are, however, united together by carti- 
lages, each on its own side, and this cartilaginous union 
ultimately terminates in the sternum; so that the whole of 
the ribs are enabled to expand or act in uniformity. The 
sternum, or breast-bone (PI. I, 8), in the young horse con- 
sists of six bones, which become united into a single piece 
in a full-grown animal. The front of this bone is convex 
and sharply keeled, its upper extremity projecting so as to 
be easily observed in the living horse. This is known as 
the "point of the breast," and its place will be easily 
ascertained when it is remembered that the lowest part of 
the collar just covers it. 

The haunch, or pelvis (PI. I, 11; PI. II), is in reality 
made up of six bones — three on each side — the whole firmly 
united into one. Of these, the ilium is the most important, 
and is strongly secured to the .y^r; a/ vertebrae, which form 
the keystone of the pelvic arch. Lateral prolongations of 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK, 63 

the ilium produce the prominences so conspicuous just 
above and in front of the hind-quarters in every horse. 
The ischium, or hip-bone, is a backward continuation of the 
ilium, and bears a considerable tuberosity, which projects 
on each side a little below the tail. T\\^ pubis, apparently 
a single bone, is connected with those already mentioned, 
and forms an inverted arch with them below (PI. II, d). 

The bones of the limbs next claim attention. The 
natural attitude of the horse being that of a quadruped 
supported on the extremities of its four limbs, and with 
its body in a horizontal position, there is a greater ap- 
parent difference between its skeleton and that of man 
than really exists, as will be evident after a very slight 
examination and comparison of the two series of bones 
composing them. Man rests on the entire length of the 
foot, and his hands and fingers are constructed for grasp- 
ing. The horse, on the contrary, is supported on the ex- 
treme points of its toes and fingers, reduced on each limb 
to a single digit, and protected by the nail becoming mod- 
ified into a hoof. The long-established phraseology of 
horsemen brought into use by the necessity for distinguish- 
ing the different parts of fore-legs and hind-legs, and the 
strange confusion resulting from the introduction of new 
names and the misapplication of old ones, render a due 
comprehension of the nature and relation of these limbs 
almost impossible to those who have given no attention to 
the skeleton of the horse. 

Many of the bones in each skeleton are known by the 
same names, but some parts of the limbs in the horse have 
been strangely miscalled. Mr. Hawkins, therefore, has 
thought it desirable to give, in parallel columns, the names 
of those bones and joints which, although exactly corre- 
sponding in man and the horse, are spoken of under differ- 
ent titles in the ordinary description of the two skeletons. 



64 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



References to the various illustrations will show the true 
relation and correspondence of the several bones; but as we 
shall have to speak specially of the horse, it will perhaps 
be desirable to employ the terms generally used in con- 
nection with that animal. They are as follows: 

III. Corresponding Bones in Man and the 
Horse. — The names commonly applied to corresponding 
bones in man and the horse are: (See Plate II.) 

Man. 
Arm {ktimerus) 
Fore-arm 
Wrist {carpus) 
Hand (inetacarpits) 
Knuckles 
Finger 



Thigh {femur) 

Knee 

Leg 

Ankle {tarsus) 

Heel 

Foot (metatarsus) 

Ball of foot 

Toe 



Front Limbs. Hokse. 

= Lower bone of shoulder. 

= Arm. 

= Knee. 

= Leg, cannon, and splints. 

= Fetlock. 

= Pasterns and foot. 
Hind Limbs, 

= Upper bone of thigh. 

= Stifle-joint. 

rr: Thigh. 

= Hock. 

= Point of hock. 

= Leg. 

= Fetlock. 

= Pasterns and foot. 



The fore-leg, or front limb, is united to the body of the 
horse by means of the shoulder, which is here said to be 
composed of two bones, both covered in and hidden by 
numerous overlying muscles. The upper bone, or shoulder- 
blade, has the usual flattened and long, triangular shape, 
and is strengthened by a ridge or crest dividing it longi- 
tudinally into two somewhat unequal portions. The shoul- 
der-blade, or scaptda, rests on the ribs, the short side, or 
base of the triangle, being placed just below the withers, 
and its point directed downward and forward, nearly 
on a level with the top of the breast-bone. The shoulder- 




Plate II.— Legs of Man and Hind-Legs of the Horse Oomiiared. 



(65) 



06 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

blade has no osseous connection or articulation with the 
body of the horse, but is united to it solely by muscles, 
which will be spoken of more in detail when we come to 
the shoulder. The clavicles, or collar-bones, so well known 
in man and a few quadrupeds, do not exist in the horse. 
The lower bone of the shoulder, as it is commonly called, 
corresponds to the hutnerus, or upper bone of the human 
arm. It is a short, thick, and somewhat twisted bone, 
articulating by a rounded head with the glenoid, or cup- 
shaped cavity at the point of the shoulder-blade. Its 
lower extremity, which is directed backward, terminates in 
two condyles, receiving between them the head of the 
principal upper bone of the leg. This portion of the fore- 
leg, commonly called the arm {fore-arm, human), is com- 
posed of two bones, a long one in front, termed the radius, 
which extends to the knee, and a short one behind, called 
the ulna. The latter bone has a long projection above 
and behind the upper joint, and forms the point of the 
elbow, to which some powerful muscles are attached for ex- 
tending the arm. It rapidly diminishes in size toward its 
lower extremity, and terminates in a point before it reaches 
the knee. In old horses these two bones of the arm 
become firmly united into one. 

The knee is a complicated joint uniting the arm to the 
shank or leg, and is composed of six small bones interposed 
between the upper and lower portions of the fore-leg. We 
shall have occasion to describe the structure of this im- 
portant joint at greater length on a subsequent page. 
Below the knee are the metacarpal bones, or those of the 
leg. They are three in number — the cannon and two splint 
bones behind. They represent the bones of the human 
hand — those between the wrists and the fingers. The re- 
maining bones of thp fore-legs are the upper and lower 
pasterns, and the cofifin-bone, surrounded by the hoof, or nail, 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 67 

together forming a single stout finger — the only one 
developed. 

In the hind-legs, we find a very similar arrangement of 
the bones. We have already spoken of the pelvic arch, 
made up of the several bones of the haunch. At a point 
on the outer surface of the pelvis, and at the junction of 
the three componeat bones on each side, a deep, cup-shaped 
cavity, called the acetabulum^ is formed to receive the round 
head of the true thigh-bone, or femur (PI. II, e). Great 
strain is thrown on this joint; it is therefore well protected 
by the bony cup, or acetabulum, to whose center the head of 
the femur is further secured by an exceedingly strong liga- 
ment. T\vQ, femur, or true thigh-bone, is so much concealed 
by the large muscles of the hind-quarters that its true re- 
lations, or even its existence, may not be recognized in the 
living horse. This circumstance has led to the confusion of 
names into which horsemen have fallen when speaking of 
the different parts of the hind-leg. 

The lower extremity of Xh^ femur is united to the bones 
of the true leg {tibia) by the "stifle-joint," which also in- 
cludes the patella, or knee-cap (PI. II, /), this joint corre- 
sponding to the knee in human anatomy. The bones of the 
leg (" thigh " of horsemen) are the tibia and fibula (PI. II, 
g, h), articulating below with the numerous small bones of 
the ankle. The " hock " (PI. II, /) is formed by a number 
of small bones, one of them having an elongated, lever-like 
form, with its free extremity directed upward. This is the 
OS calcis, or bone of the heel. Into this bone the tendons 
of several powerful muscles are inserted, and a great deal 
of the springing power of the horse, as well as in other 
jumping animals, is due to the position and action of this 
part of the hinder limb. 

The remaining bones of the hind-leg agree generally 
with those of the corresponding portions of the anterior 
(fore) limb. 



68 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

IV. Bones of the Head and Neck. — Plate III; 
Figs, i and 2. 

The bones of the head may be divided into two groups, 
those of the cranium and of the face. The cranial bones 
include all those which cover or inclose the brain. They 
are for the most part arranged in pairs, one on each side 
of the mesial line of the skull, but may conveniently be 
spoken of as single bones. 

The frontal^ or bone of the forehead (^), forms the 
broad, fiat surface between the eyes, and extends with a 
narrowing outline toward the top of the head. The 
frontal occupies the widest part of the head. Consid- 
erable difference in the width of this bone may be noticed 
in various horses; and it will generally be found that the 
broad and ample forehead is a mark of high breeding and 
superior intelligence in the animal, as is often sufficiently 
indicated by the expression of the face. The parietal [b) 
extends backward from the frontal to the poll. It has a 
ridge or crest of great strength and hardness along the 
upper surface, from which the bone slopes down like a 
roof on each side, covering the brain, which it is mainly 
concerned in protecting. 

Immediately behind the parietal, and covering the 
entire back of the head, is the occipital [c), a bone whose 
position exposes it to greater strain than any of the other 
component parts of the skull are liable to. The occipital 
has to support the whole weight of the head, which is 
articulated by two rounded protuberances, or condyles, at 
the base of this bone to the atlas, or first vertebra of the 
neck. On the outer sides of the occipital, and beyond the 
condyles, are two styliform processes or pointed projections 
for the attachment of some of the muscles of the neck 
which assist in supporting the head. 

The temporal bone [d) unites above with the parietal, 
and behind with the occipital. It contains the internal parts 




Plate III.— Bones of the Head and Neck. 



a, Frontal; b, Parietal; c, Occipital; rf, Temporal; e. Malar; /, Lacni-ymal; 
g. Nasal; 7i, Superior maxillary; i, Pre-maxillary; k. Inferior maxillaries, or 
lower jaw; /, Orbit. Cervical vertebrae— 1, Atlas; 3, Dentata; 3, Third; 4, 
Fourth; 5, Fifth; 6, Sixth; 7, Seventh. 

(69) 



70 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

of the ear, and has a depression or hollow beneath for the 
articulation of the lower jaw. Anteriorly, this bone joins 
the extremity of \.\vt frontal, and continuing forward unites 
with the malar, or cheek-bone {e), making up the zygomatic 
arch, and forming the greatest part of the orbit, which is 
completed by the lachrymal (/), a small facial bone at the 
inner corner of the eye. Immediately before the frontal is 
the nasal bone (^), one of the principal bones of the face, 
and covering the delicate membrane of the nose. The 
superior maxillary {Ji) is a large bone occupying the side of 
the face. It carries all the molar teeth, or grinders, and 
the tusk of the upper jaw. The nippers, or incisor teeth, 
are inserted in the pre-maxillary (i), which, uniting with 
the two bones last mentioned, completes the framework 
of the nose. The lower jaw consists of two bones only, 
the inferior maxillaries (k). These are rounded at the 
hinder extremity of the jaw, and terminate in two processes 
directed upward. 

The terminal projection, or condyloid process, articulates 
with the temporal bone at the base of the zygomatic arch, 
and forms the hinge on which the whole lower jaw moves. 
The second process, termed the coronoid, passes under the 
arch, and receives the lower end of the large te?nporal 
muscle which arises from the parietal bone, and is prin- 
cipally concerned in moving the jaw in the act of mastica- 
tion. There are also two small bones in the lower part of 
the cranium, under \.\\& parietal — 1\\^ sphenoid 2.\\di ethmoid; 
they serve to connect the principal bones of the skull, but 
as they are not visible externally, they do not need de- 
scription for artistic purposes. The bones of the neck, as 
we have already mentioned, are seven in number. The 
'itlas, which articulates with the skull, is a ring-shaped bone 
with broad lateral projections, but without any other prom- 
inent characteristics. It has a^reat freedom of motion on the 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 71 

second bone, or dentata, and, on the peculiar articulation of 
these two vertebrae, the power of turning the head mainly 
dei)ends. The remaining five bones of the neck closely 
resemble one another; they have various small processes for 
the insertion of muscles and ligaments, and their form will 
be sufficiently understood by an examination of Plate III. 

V. Muscles of the Head and Neck.— Plate IV; 

Figs, i and 2 

The muscles of the head are not very numerous, and 
those requiring the most attention will be found in the 
immediate neighborhood of the mouth and nostrils. 

The largest superficial muscle is the masseter (PI. IV; 
Figs. 1 , 2, a). This forms the cheek of the horse, and extends 
along a ridge by the side of the head, below the eye, to the 
rounded posterior angle of the lower jaw, which has a 
roughened surface for its more secure attachment. Its 
action is to close the mouth. The temporal muscle {b) also 
assists in this office. It arises from the medial ridge of 
the parietal bone, clothing its roof-like walls, and is inserted 
within the zygomatic arch to the coronoid process of the 
lower jaw-bone. The dimpling which may be observed 
during mastication above the eye of the horse is produced 
by the action of this muscle in alternately raising and de- 
pressing the under jaw. The orbicularis {c) is a circular 
muscle surrounding the eye and closing the eyelids. Above 
the eye, and directed inward and upward, is a small lev- 
ator muscle (</), which passes over the orbicularis and raises 
the upper eyelid. 

The muscles of the ear are not very conspicuous. Three 
of them may be shortly noticed. The first, proceeding 
from the base of the ear, extends a short distance forward 
and turns it in that direction ; the second, behind the ear, 
directs inward and backward; and the third descends as a 




Plate IV.— Muscles of the Head and Neck. 



Head. — a, Masseter; b, Temporalis; c, Orbicularis; rl, LevaU)r; e. Orbicu- 
laris oris; /, Dilator naris lateralis; g, Zygomaticus ; /(, Nasalis labii subperi- 
oris; /', Depressor labii inferioris. 

Neck.— J, Complexus major; fc, Splenius; 1, Levator anguli scapulae; m, 
Hyoideus; n, Sterno-maxillaris; o, Levator humeri, or deltoides. 

(72) 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 73 

narrow strip at the back of the cheek to incline the ear 
outward. 

The frontal and nasal bones have no prominently per- 
ceptible muscular covering, the difference in the shape of 
these parts in various horses being entirely due to the 
variation in the relative size and proportion of the partic- 
ular bones. 

Of the muscles of the lips and nose, the orbicularis {e) is 
one of the most special importance. It entirely surrounds 
the mouth, and by its action the lips are pushed out or 
closed. This muscle is brought into play whenever the 
lips are required to seize or hold anything between them. 
The dilator naris lateralis [/) is a pyramidal muscle cov- 
ering the whole exterior of the nostril, and having its origin 
close to the anterior point of the masseter. It is the great 
side dilator of the nostril, and also raises the upper lip. 
The zygomaticus (g) draws back the corner of the mouth, 
whence it may be traced upward, outside the masseter, to 
its origin on the zygomatic arch. The buccinator, a muscle 
on the inside of the mouth and cheek, and consequently 
scarcely visible externally, has the same office as the 
preceding. 

The nasalis labii superioris {K) extends from a depression 
in front of the eye toward the angle of the mouth, a short 
distance above which it divides into two parts, the side 
dilator of the nostril (/) passing between them. One of 
these portions is continued straight to the corner of the 
mouth, which it raises; the other part expands under the 
side dilator, and assists it in the office of dilating the 
nostril. It also helps to lift the upper lip. 

The under lip is drawn back by the depressor labii 
inferioris (/), a narrow muscle which is inserted into the lip 
below the angle of the mouth, and passing along the side 
of the jaw, disappears under the masseter. 



74 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

" Independently of the muscles for supporting the head and 
neck, there is a very beautiful and simple arrangement by 
which those parts are kept in an easy and natural position 
when the horse is at rest. This consists of a very strong 
and elastic ligament called the ligamentum nuchcB. It takes 
its origin from the back of the occipital bone, to which it is 
attached immediately below the crest. At first it is in the 
form of a stout, round cord. It passes over the atlas, or 
first joint of the neck, to allow full freedom of motion to 
the head, and is strongly adherent to the dentata, on which 
the principal strain from the weight of the head is thrown; 
it then proceeds backward to its termination on the ele- 
vated spinous processes of the first dorsal vertebrae. The 
withers, as these elevated parts are called, have thus an 
important office — that of supporting the weight of the 
entire head and neck when in their ordinary position. But 
provision must also be made for lowering and raising the 
head, and for these purposes there are special muscles. 
The first to be noticed is the coniplexus major (Fig. 1,7). 
It arises from the transverse processes of the four or five 
first dorsal vertebrae, and also from the five lower bones 
of the neck ; the fibres from these two points uniting to 
form one large muscle, which, diminishing in size in 
direction of the head, terminates in a tendon inserted into 
the occipital bone. This muscle makes up the principal 
portion of the lower part of the neck. Immediately above 
this is the splenius (/'), specially employed in raising the 
head. It arises from the entire length of the ligamentiim 
nuchcE, and is directly inserted into all the bones of the 
neck, except the first, with which, however, and the 
temporal bone of the head, it has a separate and less 
distinct connection. To the form and development of the 
splenius, the beauty of the neck of the horse is mainly due. 
It is here the greatest thickness is found ; and from being 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 75 

sometimes overloaded with cellular substance or fat, an 
appearance of clumsiness may be produced. The thick 
crest and massive neck of the entire horse are, to a large 
extent, due to the abundant development of this muscle ; 
and the student or breeder will do well to acquire a 
thorough knowledge of its form, which in every condition 
and breed of the horse so largely contributes to give a 
character to the neck. 

Behind the splenius, and extending along the superior 
margin of the neck, is the levator anguli scapulce (/). It is 
inserted into the back of the head, and attached to the first 
four bones of the neck, as well as to the great ligament; 
then descends to the shoulder, where it is not visible 
externally. It has a reciprocal action on the neck and 
shoulder, according to whichever is the fixed point at the 
time. 

Of the muscles in front of the neck, is the hyoideus (Plate 
IV, Fig. 2, ;//). Its upper extremity is always conspicuous 
immediately below the head at its junction with the neck. 
It is attached to the hyoid-bone of the tongue, which it re- 
tracts and descends along the front of the neck to the 
shoulder, but is covered in the greatest part of its length 
by other muscles, and is only visible for a short distance 
below the head. Outside this muscle, and partly covering 
it, is the sterno-maxillaris (Plate IV, //), the principal de- 
pressor of the head. It arises from the upper end of the 
sternum, or point of the breast, covers the lower front of 
the neck, then proceeding upward by the side of the 
hyoideus, is inserted by a flat tendon into the posterior 
■ angle of the lower jaw. It is not a very large muscle, for 
when those supporting the head and neck are relaxed, but 
little force is required to pull the head down. 

Beyond the sterno-maxillaris, and extending from the 
back of the head and upper part of the neck along the 



76 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

front of the shoulder to the top of the fore-leg, is the 
levator humeri, or deltoides (Plate IV, o), a long and very im- 
portant muscle, having, in fact, a double function to per- 
form. When the head is kept up by its proper muscles, it 
becomes a fixed point, from which the levator humeri is 
enabled to raise the shoulder. This is probably its principal 
ofifice. Its action, however, can also be reversed, and with 
the shoulder for a fixed point, the head can be depressed, a 
small slip of the muscle being carried forward to the point 
of the sternum to pull the head in that direction. 

It must be remembered that, with very few exceptions, 
the muscles are all arranged in pairs — sometimes, though 
rarely, in contact — and thus in speaking of them in the singu- 
lar number, unless otherwise stated, we are referring to 
their positions and functions on each side of the animal. 

VI. Bones and Muscles of the Shoulder. — The 

shoulder-blade, or scapula (Plate I, 9), consists of a single 
bone, and connects the fore-leg with the trunk, correspond- 
ing in its relation to that of the haunch-bone to the hind- 
leg. There is, however, this important difference between 
them: the haunch-bones are anchylosed or united to the 
sacral portion of the backbone, in order to provide a firm 
point from which those powerful levers, the hind-legs, can 
act; the shoulder, on the contrary, has to receive a violent 
shock from the weight of all the front part of the animal 
suddenly falling on the fore- legs. The shoulder has, there- 
fore, only a muscular attachment to the trunk; and by this 
arrangement no jar is received by the spine, and any injury 
to the important viscera of the chest is rendered unlikely. 
The shoulder-blade is of a long, triangular form, with 
its apex directed downward, nearly on a level with the 
point of the breast, and its somewhat rounded base resting 
on the ribs immediately below the withers. It is divided 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 77 

externally into two portions. by a ridge or crest running 
nearly the length of the blade, and a little on one side of 
its medial line. This ridge of bones gives additional firm- 
ness to the shoulder-blade, and affords a surface for the 
attachment of some very important muscles. At the lower 
extremity of the shoulder-blade is a cup-shaped hollow, 
called the glenoid cavity, with which the rounded head of 
the bone {humerus) of the shoulder articulates. Above 
this joint, on the anterior edge of the scapula, is the 
acromion process, to which, in man and some few quad- 
rupeds, the clavicle, or collar-bone, is united. This bone, 
however, is not found in the horse, nor in other animals 
which have but little power of lateral motion in the front 
limbs. 

Following the custom of horsemen, and adopting their 
nomenclature for the bones of the horse, we treat of the 
"lower bone of the shoulder," the humerus {V\3.tQ I), in 
every respect corresponding with that part of the human 
arm which extends from the shoulder to the elbow, but 
which, in the horse, is so hidden by the muscles as not to 
be externally visible as a distinct bone of the front limb. 
The lower bone of the shoulder is short and strong; it 
articulates by a rounded head with the glenoid cavity of 
the scapula, and has considerable freedom of motion. Its 
direction is backward, and at almost a right-angle with the 
shoulder-blade. It has several large protuberances at the 
upper end of the bone, and to which are attached the prin- 
cipal muscles for moving it. The lower extremity ter- 
minates in two condyles, or heads, between which the 
superior end of the arm-bone is received. 

VII. Muscles of the Shoulder and Back.— 
Plates V and VI. 

Of the muscles of the shoulder, we may first notice the 
trapezius (Plates V, VI). It rises from the ligament of 




Plate V.— Muscles of the Shoulder and Back. 



a;, Trapezius; a, PectoraUs minor; 6, Antea spinatus; c, Postea spinatus; 
d, Teres minor; e, Anconseus longus; /, Anconaeus externus; g, Serratus 
major; *, Lattissimus dorsi; p m, Pectoralis major. See also Plate VI. 



(78) 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 79 

the neck and the principal bones of the withers, and ter- 
minates in a pointed shape on a prominent part of the 
ridge of the shoulder-blade. Its office is to raise and sup- 
port the shoulder, assisting the serratus major (Plate V, g), 
a very important muscle, but hardly visible externally, as it 
is principally situated between the shoulder-blade and the 
ribs of the horse, forming the main connection between 
them. 

The antea spinatus (Plates V, VI, <5), taking its name 
from its situation, occupies the outer surface of the scapula, 
on the front side of the spine or ridge of that bone. It 
proceeds to the lower bone of the shoulder, and, dividing 
into two parts, is inserted into the two prominences in front 
of it, extending the bone forward. The postea spinatus 
(Plates V, VI, c) is situated on the other side of the spine 
of the shoulder-blade, and is inserted into the upper and 
outer head of the bone, drawing it outward and raising it. 
Behind \.\\& postea spinatus is a small muscle called the teres 
minor (Plates V, VI, d), or little pectoral; it draws the 
shoulder forward toward the breast. The pectoralis major 
(Plate VI, /, vi) is conspicuous inside the arm at its junc- 
tion with the body. It is an important muscle, and pulls 
the whole fore-leg inward, keeping it on a line with the 
body and insuring an even and regular action of the limb. 
On the outside of the shoulder, and readily seen in the 
living horse when in motion, are two muscles, which, aris- 
ing from the lower bone of the shoulder, are inserted into 
the point of the elbow. They are called the auconceus 
longus (Plates V, VI, e) and the anconczus externus (Plates 
V, VI, /). Their office is to straighten and extend the 
arm — in other words, to bring the front limb into a 
perpendicular position, and as nearly as possible in a line 
with the humerus, or, as we have called it, the "lower bone 
of the shoulder." The muscles which bend the arm up- 




Plate VI.— Muscles of the Shoulder and Back 



<80) 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 81 

ward are not visible externally, but are almost entirely 
covered by those of the shoulder. 

The muscles of the back do not require any lengthened 
notice. The lattissimus dor si (Plates V, VI) is the most 
important; it covers the whole back, extending from the 
shoulder to the haunch, and is strongly attached to the 
processes of the vertebrae and the ribs. This muscle is the 
principal one employed in raising the fore or hind quarters 
in the act of rearing or kicking. That part of it which 
comes nearest to the surface is generally covered by an ordi- 
nary saddle, but no portion of this muscle is at any time very 
distinctly visible. 

VIII. Bones and Muscles of the Front Limbs.— 
Plate VII; Fig. i; Bones. 

The upper portion of the fore-leg, or, as it is commonly 
called m the horse, the arm {fore-arm, human), extending 
from the elbow to the knee {carpus), consists of two bones, 
the radius and the ulna. The radius is the more important 
of the two, and in the young horse is the great support of 
the leg. It is the long front-bone, is nearly straight, and 
receives into depressions on its upper end the two heads of 
the inferior extremity of the lower bone of the shoulder. 
The other end of the radius fits onto the upper layer of 
the bones of the knee {carpus). The n/na is situated behind, 
and to some extent above the radius, there being a consid- 
erable projection of the former received between the heads 
of the lower bone of the shoulder, and called the elbow. 
This forms a powerful lever, into which are inserted the 
muscles for extending the arm, as already noticed in our 
account of the muscles of the shoulder. The ui/ia is con- 
tinued downward, gradually diminishes in size, and termi- 
nates in a point behind the middle of the radius. These 
two bones of the arm are at first distinct and separate, but 

6 




Fig. 2. Fig. 1. 

PALATE Vn. — Bones and Muscles of the Front Limbs. 

A, Radius; b, Ulna, point of; c, Knee (carpus); d, Camion, or Shauk ; e. 
Splints; p. Sesamoids Cbehind Fetlock); g. Upper and Lower Pasterns; h, Coflfiu- 
Bone; i. Navicular. 

Fig. 2. — Muscles, h. Extensor carpi radiallis; i, Extensor digitoruui lougior; 
j. Extensor digitorum brevior; k, Abductor pollicis longus; ef, External 
flexor; rnf, Middle flexor; if, Internal flexor. 

(88) 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 83 

before many years have passed the cartilaginous and liga- 
mentous connection between them becomes ossified, and 
the two bones are firmly united into one. 

The knee (Fig. i, c), corresponding to the human wrist 
(carpus), is a part of the fore-leg to which the attention of 
the artist should be particularly directed, as its form is 
always a characteristic and prominent feature in the outline 
of the horse, and one to which, like the hand in the draw- 
ing of the human figure, severe scrutiny is likely to be 
applied. The knee is a complicated joint, that is, it is 
composed of numerous small bones interposed between 
the lower end of the radius and the upper extremity 
of the shank, or cannon-bone. A weak-kneed horse, there- 
fore, is always a dangerous one to the rider or driver. 
Hence a weak-kneed stallion should never be used to 
cover, and a weak-kneed mare should never be used as a 
breeder. 

The position and action of this joint render it pecul- 
iarly liable to external injury and violent jars or strains; it 
is therefore so made up that any shock it may receive will 
be distributed over a number of distinct bones, -€ach pro- 
tected by a covering of cartilage, and resting on a kind of 
semi-fluid cushion, the whole beingstrongly united together 
by ligaments. 

IX. Bones of the Hind Limb. — It will be un- 
necessary to give any detailed account of the bones of the 
haunch, as they have been sufficiently described in the 
general sketch of the skeleton. It will, therefore, only be 
necessary to point out the characters of the bones of which 
the hind-leg is composed. 

Beginning at the upper extremity of the limb, the first 
bone to be noticed is the femur, or true thigh (PI. II, e); 
and here we must direct the reader's attention to the list 



84 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

of the names applied to corresponding bones in the 
skeletons of mar and horse (see page 64), that he may- 
become familiar with the true relation of the several parts 
of the hind-leg, so commonly misnamed when speaking of 
the horse. We shall, as before, use the forms most familiar 
to the horseman, explaining them as may appear desirable 
for the due comprehension of the subject. This bone 
{femur) is so entirely hidden by various muscles of the 
haunch as to be unrecognized and unnamed by those 
persons who are not acquainted with anatomy. We shall 
speak of it as the " upper bone of the thigh," a term that 
may be easily remembered by those who apply the name of 
"thigh " to the next lower bone of the series. 

The " upper bone of the thigh " [femur) is exceedingly 
strong and stout. It is short for its bulk, which is further 
augmented by several large projections, or trochanters, 
placed longitudinally for the attachment of some important 
muscles. The upper extremity of Xht femur has a distinct, 
rounded head on the inner side, fitting into and articulating 
with the acetabulum, or bony cup formed at the junction of 
the three pelvic bones. The lower end of the bone bears 
two prominences, which fit into corresponding depressions 
in the next bone, and in front of which is placed thepatella, 
or knee-cap (PL II, /), together making up the "stifle- 
joint " of horsemen, or, more strictly speaking, the actual 
"knee" of anatomists. The "thigh" (leg, human) con- 
sists of two bones, the ti'di'a (PI. II, g) and the fdula (PI. 
II, A). The tt'h'a extends from the stifle-joint, which it 
helps to form, to the " hock " (ankle, human). The fibula 
is placed behind on the outer side of it, extending from its 
upper extremity to about one-third of its length. It is 
attached to the larger bone by cartilage, and agrees in 
general character with the small bone, or ulna, in the 
fore-leg. 





; <i 



Fig. 1. Fig. ^. 

Pt.ate VIII.— Bones of the Hock. 



u, Tibia; b, Os calcis; c, Astragalus; d, Cuboides; e, Naviciilare : / Outer 
cuneiform; g, Middle cuneiform; h, Splint; i. Cannon, or shank. 



(85) 



86 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

X. Bones of the Hock (z^/'^wi-). — Plate VIII. Fig. 

I, BACK VIEW, INNER SIDE. FiG. 2, FRONT VIEW, OUTER 
SIDE. 

The hock (Plate VIII) is an important and somewhat 
complicated joint. It corresponds to the ankle and heel in 
man, although in the horse it is at some distance from 
the ground. Like the knee of the horse {carpus)^ the hock 
{tarsus) consists of several small bones interposed between 
the long ones of the lower part of the limb. They are six 
in number, and of various shapes (for a knowledge of which 
we must refer the reader to Plate VIII, which gives a fi'ont 
and inner side view of the joint with the several bones in 
their natural positions). We may, however, direct attention 
to the projecting bone at the back of the joint. This bone, 
the OS calcis, or heel-bone, forms what is called the " point 
of the hock." It acts as a lever to straighten the leg, and 
is moved by the tendo Achillis, and other tendons arising 
from the muscles which spring from the upper part of the 
limb. It is considerably developed in all fast-moving ani- 
mals, an increase in the length of the lever adding consid- 
erably to the force of the spring. 

XI. Comparative View of the Bones of the Pelvis 
and Limbs of Man and the Horse. — See Plate II. 

Pelvis— a, Sacrum; 6, Ilium; c, Ischium; d, Pubis, e. Femur: /, Patella; 
g, Tibia; h, Fibula; i, Tarsus; j, Metatarsus; k, Digit. 1, 2, 3, Phalanx. 

The remaining bones of the hind-leg do not require 
any lengthened description, as they agree generally with 
those in the lower part of the fore-leg. The "leg" {t?ieta- 
tarsus, Plate II, /) is composed of the shank and two 
splint-bones, the former uniting at the fetlock-joint with 
the upper pastern, which is followed by the other bones of 
the toe, as in the front limb. 

In Plate II is a comparative view of the limbs of 
man and the horse, by which the true nature and rela- 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



87 



tions of the several bones may be readily understood, and 
to which our observations on a similar comparison of the 
front limbs are gener- 
ally applicable. 

To elucidate the 
structure of the limbs 
more fully, we intro- 
duce three plainly fig- 
ured engravings. It 
will only be necessary 
here to show the limbs 
below the hock and 
knee, including the 
hoof, to give an idea 
of the importance of 
the limbs. Fig. i 



d— 




f 




Fig. 2. 



Fig. 1. 

shows the bones of the fore- 
leg, side view; (a), bones of 
carpus; (d), splent or splint 
bone; (c), cannon-bone; (d), 
■^ sesamoid-bone; (<?), pastern- 
bone; (/), coronet-bone; (g), 
coffin-bone. At Fig. 2 is 
shown bones of hind-leg, front 
view; {a, b, c, d, e), bones of 
the tarsus; (/), cannon-bone; 
(;^), pastern-bone; (/;), coronet- 
bone; (/), coffin-bone. Fig. 3 
shows a side view of hind-leg; 
(a), bones of the tarsus; {b), 
splint-bone; {c), cannon-bone; 
[d), sesamoid-bone; (<?), pas- 
— I tern-bone; (/), coronet-bone; 
[g), coffin-bone. It will be 



88 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

seen that below the knee 
and hock the names of the 
bones are similar. Thus, 
with the cut of skeleton 
previously given, the reader 

b -Uni \ will not only get a perfect 

^i \ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ proper location 

of the bones, but their cor- 
^ \ rect names. 

This matter of a correct 

study of principal bones and 

, J Mk muscles is more important 

-i&«i^& than may seem at a first 

g _ -r^"""^ glance; for with a knowl- 

, edge of the scientific names 

I ^^I^L and location, it assists 

g -^^^^^ greatly the comprehension 

Fig. 3. of the breeder. 

XII. Muscles of the Hind-Quarters. — Plates 

VI AND IX. 

Under this heading are included all muscles which are 
concerned in and connected with the motion of the hind- 
limbs. 

The muscles of the hind-quarters are for the most part 
strongly marked, and the situation of the principal ones 
easily recognized. 

Prominent on the front and outer part of the haunch is 
the glutcvus inedius (VI and IX, ni). It arises from the 
processes of several of the vertebrje of the loins, and from 
the prominent parts of the ilium, terminating at its inter- 
section in the great trochanter, ox projection on the upper 
bone of the thigh [femur). It is a very important muscle, 
and acts with considerable power in raising and bringing for- 
ward the femur. It has been called the "kicking muscle." 





Plate IX.— Muscles of the Hind-Quarters. 



1, Glutasusexternus; wi, Glutaeus medius; ii. Triceps femoris; o, Biceps; p, 
Semi-membranosus, Plate IX; q, Mueculus facias latae; r, Rectus; .s, Vastus ex- 
ternus; m, Gracilis; v, Extensor pedis; w, Perinaeus; .r, Flexor pedis; y, Gas- 
trocnemi; z. Flexor metatarsi. 



(.S!» 



90 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

The glutceus externus (VI and IX, /) is a slender mus- 
cle attached to the g/ufcBus medius, having a generally sim- 
ilar origin and function. 

Among the most conspicuous muscles of the hind- 
quarter, especially when the horse is in motion, is the tri- 
ceps femoris (Pis. I, VI, IX, ?/), or three-headed mus- 
cle of the thigh i^fetmir). Strictly speaking, it is made up 
of three muscles, but as they are united and have a common 
action, it will be convenient to speak of them as one. It 
takes its origin from several of the bones of the spine, in- 
cluding some at the root of the tail, and from various parts 
of the haunch-bones; it then curves downward and for- 
ward, dividing into three heads, which are inserted broadly 
into the upper part of the lower bone of the thigh, behind 
the "stifle-joint," or true knee. Its action is evidently to 
draw back the stifle-joint; in other words, to straighten the 
leg. It has, therefore, enormous power in impelling the ani- 
mal forward. The ^/«//^/ muscles bend the leg preparatory 
to taking the spring, and the triceps acts in opposition, 
forcing the leg straight, and consequently lifting the body 
forward. The posterior margin of this muscle may be 
more or less distinctly observed, parallel to the outline of 
the buttock, in all kinds of horses, but is particularly evi- 
dent in hunters and racers, where high condition has re- 
sulted from the proper exercise of these powerful springs 
of motion. Parallel with, and immediately behind the tri- 
ceps, is the biceps (VI, IX, o). It springs from the saci-utn 
and the first bones of the tail, and descending to the inner 
side of the lower bone of the thigh [tibia), forms the outer 
posterior border of the haunch, and assists in straightening 
the leg. The setni-membranosus (IX, /) is also one of the 
flexors of the leg; it forms the inner posterior border of 
the haunch, and unites on the mesial line, under the tail, 
with its fellow-muscle of the other quarter. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 91 

On the outer front part of the haunch is the musculus 
fasci(z latcB (Pis. I, VI, q). It arises from the anterior por- 
tion of the crest of the ilium, and is inclosed between two 
layers of tendinous substance, which disappears below the 
stifle. This peculiar muscle binds down and secures the 
other muscles in front of the haunch. The rectus (PI. 
VI, /-) proceeds from the iliitni in front of the hip- joint, 
and is inserted into the patella, or knee-cap. It forms the 
front edge of the thigh. Behind the rectus, and also 
inserted in the patella, is a large muscle called the vastus 
externus (Pi. VI, s^, of which a part only can be seen 
externally. These muscles are powerful extensors of the 
thigh. 

Descending inside the thigh is a narrow strip of muscle, 
terminating just below the stifle-joint. This is the sar- 
torius, or "tailor's muscle;" it bends the leg (///^/t?) and 
turns it inward. It can hardly be seen. By the side of 
this muscle, and to the rear of it, occupying the principal 
surface of the inside of the thigh [femur), we find the gra- 
cilis (Pis. I, IX, u) inserted, like the sartorius, into the 
upper part of the lower bone of the thigh (tibia). Of the 
muscles which move the lower portion of the leg and the 
ioot, the extensor pedis {V\s. I, IX, v) is the most important. 
It arises behind the stifle, from the extremities of the two 
bones of the thigh [femur and tibia), and descending to the 
hock, where its tendon passes under a sheath, confining 
it to its place in front of that joint, continues its course to 
the foot, and is inserted by a wide expansion into the front 
of the coffin-bone. The perinceus (PI. IX, w) follows 
much the same course as the last muscle, but takes a more 
lateral direction. It arises from the fibula, and the tendon 
passes on the outside of the hock, after which it descends 
to the foot with the tendon of the extensor pedis. These 
muscles lift the foot forward. Between these muscles there 



92 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

is a small, narrow one, having the same function as the oth- 
ers, and whose tendon is visible just above the hock. The 
flexor pedis (Pis. VI, IX, x) is one of the principal muscles 
for bending the foot. It arises from the upper part of the 
tibia, and becoming tendinous before it reaches the hock, 
passes as a large, round cord through a groove at the back 
of that joint; it then descends behind the shank-bone to 
be inserted into the two pasterns. At the back of the 
*' thigh " {tibia) the extremities of the gastrocnemii may be 
seen (Pis. VI, IX, j-), with united tendons {tendo Ac/iiilis), 
passing to the "point of the hock " [os calcis), where they 
are strongly inserted. There is some little difference 
between the development of the muscles whose tendons 
lead to the heel in man and the horse. In man, the artist will 
remember the soleus as forming the principal element in the 
great tendon of the heel. The gastrocnemii also contribute 
toward it. In the horse, however, these latter muscles take 
a more important share, and are aided by the plantaris, 
which, in man, is extremely small. The soleus, on the other 
hand, is as little developed in the horse. 

We may notice one muscle on the inside of the " thigh" 
{tibia). In Pis. VI, IX, z, is the flexor metatarsi, or 
bender of the "leg." It originates above the " stifle," on 
the upper bone of the thigh {femur), and is inserted into 
the shank and inner splint-bone. It lies just within the 
anterior margin of this " thigh " {tibia), and acts with con- 
siderable power in bending the hock, thereby raising the 
metatarsal bones. The metatarsus (PI. VII, y) is entirely 
without muscular covering, its shape being solely due to 
the form of its component bones, and the position of the 
tendons and ligaments which pass over it in their descent 
to the pastern and foot. 



PART VII. 
AGE INDICATED BY THE TEETH. 



I. "Stonehenge," the late J. H. Walsh, F. R. 

C S., gives a most careful study of the teeth of the horse 
as indicating age. In this connection, the editor would say, 
that the whole must be taken approximately. For instance, 
gritty pastures, or solid food, will wear the teeth fast ; nev- 
ertheless, a careful study of what we give, including the 
illustrations, will enable the reader, with a little practice, to 
determine, with tolerable accuracy, up to the age of eight or 
nine years. After that age the determination is by no 
means accurate. However, by the wear of the teeth, the 
sunken eyes, the caving in of the temples, the sharpening 
of the under surface of the lower jaw, the age can be 
very nearly arrived at. Other indications of extreme age 
are in the prominence of the bones of the tail, and the 
increasing angularity of the bones of the body generally. 

II. The Teeth. — The teeth are developed within 
their appropriate cavities, or sockets, which are found 
exactly corresponding with their number in the upper and 
lower jaws, being narrower in the lower than in the upper. 
Before birth they are nearly all in a state of incomplete 
growth, covered and concealed by the gums, but soon 
afterward they rise through it in pairs, the first set, or 
milk-teeth, being in course of time superseded by the 
permanent teeth, as in all the mammalia. The following 
is the formula of the complete dentition of the horse: 

(93) 



94 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

Incisors (nippers) j\, canine (tuslies) |, molars (grind- 
ers) if. 

Eacli tooth is developed within its corresponding cavity 
in the jaw, and is made up of three distinct substances — 
cement, enamel, and dentine. The cement of the horse's 
tooth (sometimes called crusta petrosa) closely corresponds 
in texture with his bone, and, like it, is traversed by vascu- 
lar canals. The enamel is the hardest constituent of the 
tooth, and consists of earthy matter arranged in the animal 
matrix, but contained in canals, so as to give the striated 
appearance which it presents on splitting it open. Dentine 
has an organized animal basis, presenting extremely minute 
tubes and cells, and containing earthy particles, which are 
partly blended with the animal matter in its interspaces, 
and partly contained in a granular state within its cells. 

In the molar teeth, the arrangement of these three sub- 
stances is the same, except that the cement and enamel 
dip down into two or more cavities instead of one, and are 
also reflected in a sinuous manner upon the sides. This 
inequality in the hardness of the component parts of these 
teeth causes them to wear away with different degrees of 
rapidity, and thus leaves a rough surface, which materially 
aids in grinding down the hard grain which forms a large 
portion of the animal's food. In the upper jaw, the table 
presented by each molar tooth is much larger than those of 
the corresponding lower teeth, and therefore it is easy to 
distinguish the one from the other. 

The temporary or milk incisors differ in shape a good 
deal from the permanent set. The milk-teeth are altogether 
much smaller, but especially in the neck, which is con- 
stricted in them; whilst in the permanent set, which go on 
growing as they wear out, the diameter is nearly the same 
throughout. The former are also whiter in color, and with 
grooves or indentations on their outer surface running 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 95 

toward the gum. Lastly, the mark on the table is much 
slighter than in the permanent teeth. The temporary 
molars are not distinguishable from the permanent teeth of 
that class except in size. 

As a consequence of this arrangement of parts, the 
teeth, as they wear down, present a different appearance 
according to the extent to which their attrition has reached. 
On this fact is founded a means of arriving at a knowledge 
of the age of the horse after he has shed his milk-teeth, 
which, as a rule, he does in pairs at certain fixed periods. 
In order, therefore, to be able to estimate the age of the 
horse from his teeth, it is necessary to ascertain, as nearly 
as may be, the exact time at which he puts up each pair of 
his milk or sucking teeth, and afterward the periods at 
which they are replaced by the permanent teeth. Thus it 
has become the province of the veterinarian to lay down 
rules for ascertaining the age from the degree of attrition 
which the permanent teeth have undergone. For these 
several purposes, the horse's mouth must be studied from 
the earliest period of his life up to old age. 

In horsemen's and breeders' terms, the incisors are 
nippers, the canine teeth tushes, and the molars grinders. 

III. First Year, — By the end of the first year, the 
colt has cut his twelve nippers and sixteen grinders, which 
usually pierce the gums at the following months: Before 
birth, the eight anterior grinders have generally shown 
themselves, followed about a week after foaling by the two 
central nippers. At the end of the first month, another 
grinder makes its appearance all around, and in the middle 
of the second, the next nipper shows itself. By the end of 
the second month, the central nippers have attained their 
full size, and the second are about half-grown, requiring 
another month to overtake their fellows. Between the sixth 



96 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

and ninth months, the corner nippers are cut, and toward 
the end of the first year reach their full size. This first set 
of nippers consists of teeth considerably smaller in size than 
the permanent teeth, and somewhat different in shape. 
They are more rounded in front and hollow toward the 
mouth, the outer edge being at first much higher than the 
inner. As they wear down, these two edges soon become 
level, but the corner nippers maintain this appearance for a 
long time. At six months, the central nippers are almost 
level, with the black " mark " in their middle wide and faint; 
and about the ninth month, the next nipper on each side 
above and below is also worn down almost to a level surface. 

IV. Second Year. — During the second year, the fol- 
lowing changes take place: In the first month, and some- 
times toward the end of the first year, a fourth grinder is 
cut all around, which commences the set of permanent 
teeth, the first three molars only being shed. At a year 
and a half, the mark in the central nippers is much worn 
out, and has become very faint; the second is also worn 
fiat, but it is not so faint; and the corner nippers are flat, 
but present the mark clearly enough. In colts which have 
been reared on grain and much hay, the wearing down pro- 
ceeds more rapidly than in those fed upon grass alone. 
Gritty pastures also assist largely in the wear of the teeth. 

V. Third Year. — The third year is occupied by 
the commencement of the second dentition, which is 
effected in the same order in which the milk-teeth made 
their appearance. Both sets are contained within the jaw 
at birth, the permanent teeth being small, and only partially 
developed, and lying deeper than the milk-teeth. As the 
mouth grows, it becomes too large for its first set of teeth, 
and the roots of these being pressed upon by the growth of 
the permanent set, their fangs are absorbed, and allow the 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK, 



97 



new teeth to show themselves, either in the places of the 
former, or by their sides, in which case they are known by 
the name of wolf s-teeth. This change proceeds in the same 
order as the cutting of the milk-teeth, commencing with 
the first grinder, which is shed and replaced by a perma- 
nent tooth early in the third year, a fifth grinder (perma- 
nent) making its ap- 
pearance about the 
same time. Toward 
the end of this year, 
the sixth grinder 
shows itself, but 
grows very slowly, 
and the central nip- 
pers above and be- 
low fall out, and are 
replaced by perma- 
nent ones, which, as 
before remarked, are 
considerably larger 
in size and some- 
what diffeient in 
form. 

At three years, 
two central perma- 
nent teeth appear, 
the development 
varying a good deal 
in different individ- 
uals. At three years and four or six months, the next 
nipper all around falls out, and is replaced by the perma- 
nent tooth. The corner nippers are much worn, and the 
mark in them is nearly obliterated. About this time, also, 
the second grinder is shed. 




Fig. I.— Three- Year-Old Mouth. 

B. Anterior maxillary boue. 

1. 1. Central permanent nippers, nearly full- 

grown. 

2. 2. Milk-teeth worn down. 

3. 3. Corner milk-teeth, stUl showiug central 

mark. 

4. 4. Tushes concealed within the jaw. 



98 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



VI. Four Years Old.— At four years of age, the 
mouth should differ from that at three years old in the 
following particulars: The central nippers begin to lose 

their sharp edges, 
and have grown con- 
siderably in s u b - 
stance. The next 
nipper all around has 
grown nearly to its 
full size, but not 
quite, and its edges 
are still sharp, with 
the mark deep and 
very plain. The 
corner milk-nippers 
still remain, unless 

Fig. II.— At Four and a Half Years. thev have been 

knocked out for purposes of fraud, which is sometimes done 
to hasten the growth of the permanent teeth, and give the 
horse the appearance of being four or five months older 
than he is. 

Between four and a half and five years, the corner nip- 
pers are shed, and the tush protrudes through the gum. 
These changes are shown at Fig. II. 




VII. Five-Year-Old Teeth. — At five years, the 
mouth is complete in the number of its teeth; and from 
this date it becomes necessary to study their aspect in both 
jaws. Fig. Ill shows the upper teeth at this age. In the 
lower teeth, the edges of the central cavities are much 
worn, the central nipper having only a small, black 
speck in the middle of a smooth surface, while the 
next is much worn; and the corner teeth, though 
showing the mark very plainly, bear evidence of 



THE PRAIRIE FARiMER HORSE BOOK. 



99 




having been used. The tush is much grown, with its 
outer surface reg- 
ularly convex and 
its inner concave, 
the edges being 
sharp and well 
defined. The sixth 
molar is at its 
full growth, and the 
third is shed to 
make room for the 
permanent tooth in 
its place. These 
two last-named 
teeth should always 
be examined in 
cases where there 

is any doubt about Fig ni— Upper Nippers and Tushes at Five Years 

the age. After five 
years, no further 
shedding occurs in 
any of the teeth, 

VIII. Six Years Old. — The six-year-old mouth is 
the last upon which any great reliance can be placed, if it is 
desired to ascertain the age of the horse to a nicety; but by 
attentively studying both jaws, a near approximation to the 
truth may be arrived at. It is ascertained that the nippers 
of the upper jaw take about two years longer to wear out 
than those of the lower ; so that, until the horse is eight 
years old, his age may be ascertained by referring to them 
nearly as well as by the lower nippers at six. But, as 
different horses wear out their teeth with varying rapidity, 
it is found that this test can not be implicitly relied on; and 
in crib-biters or wind-suckers the upper teeth wear out 



1. 1. Central nippers, with the marls still unob- 

literated. 

2. 2. Next nippers, with the mark still plainer. 

3. 3. Corner nippers, with the edges very slightly 

worn. 

4. 4. Tushes, weU developed, and still showing the 

groove on the outside plainly. 



100 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



wonderfully soon. Fig. IV is taken from the lower jaw of a 
six-year-old horse, showing the marks of the central nip- 
pers almost obliterated, but presenting concentric cir- 
cles of discolored, brown tartar in the middle ; next to 
which is the cement, then the enamel and the dentine, 
with a thin layer of enamel outside. Up to this age, the 




'Fig. rv^.— The Lower Nippers and Tubhes of a Six Year-Old Horse. 



B. The lower jaw. 



1. 1. The central nippers, with the 

marks worn out. 

2. 8. The next nippers, with the 

marks disappearing- 

3. 3. The comer nippers, showing the 

mark plainly enough, but 



with the edges of the cavity 
considerably woi"n. 
4. The tushes, standing up three- 
quarters of an inch, with 
their points only slightly 
blunted. 



nippers stand nearly perpendicular to each other, the two 
sets presenting a slight convexity when viewed together. 
Afterward, it will be seen, the nippers gradually extend 
themselves in a straight line from each jaw, and, in the 
very old horse, form an acute angle between them. 

At about the eighth year, the upper nippers present the 
same appearance as already described in the lower nippers 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 101 

at six years old. Both tushes are considerably worn away 
at their points, and the upper ones more so than the lower. 
At nine years of age, the upper middle nippers are worn 
down completely. The next pair have a slight mark left, 
but their surfaces are quite level, and the corner nippers 
have only a black stain, without any central depression. 




Fig. v.— Upper Nippers in the Eight- Year-Old Horse. 

A. Anterior maxillary bone. 3. 3. Corner nipper.s, showing the 

1. 1. Central nippers, worn to a plane mark plainly enough. 

sm-face. 4. 4. Tushes, more worn down than 

2. 2. Next pair^ still showing a slight in the lower jaw of the six- 

remnant of the ca^^ty. year-old mouth. 

IX. Aged Horses. — After nine years, the age of the 
horse can only be guessed at from his teeth, which gradu- 
ally grow in length, and are more in a line with the jaw. 
The section of each nipper presented to the eye becomes 
more and more triangular instead of being oval, as seen in 
Fig. VI; but after about the twelfth year the triangular 
section disappears, and the tooth becomes nearly round. 
In accordance with the increase of length is the color of 



102 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

the tooth altered, being of a dirty yellow in very old 
horses, with occasional streaks of brown and black. The 
tushes wear down to a very small size, and very often one 
or both drop out. 

Allusion has already been made to the practice of 
removing the milk-nippers for the purpose of inducing a 
more rapid growth of the next set, which, however, is not 
materially affected by the operation; but dishonest dealers 

have recourse to another 
deception, called "bishop- 
ing," by which an aged 
horse may be passed off 
upon an inexperienced 
person for a six-year-old. 
The plan adopted is to 
cut off all the nippers 
with a saw to the proper 
length, and then with a 
cutting instrument the 
operator scoops out an 
oval cavity in the corner 
nippers, which is after- 
ward burnt with a hot 

Fig. \^.— Very old horse. Lower nippers and iron until it is quite black. 

left tush. The right faUen out. j^ jg extremely easy to 

detect the imposition by carefully comparing the corner 
nippers with the next, when it will be seen that there is no 
gradation from the center to the corner nippers, but that 
the four middle ones are exactly alike, while the corners 
present a large, black cavity, without a distinct white edge 
to it, the dentine being generally encroached upon without 
any regularity in the concentric rings. Moreover, on com- 
paring the lower with the upper nippers, unless the operator 
has performed on the latter also, they will be found to be 




THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 103 

considerably more worn than the lower, the reverse of 
which ought naturally to be the case. Occasionally a 
clever operator will burn all the teeth to a properly regu- 
lated depth, and then a practiced eye alone will detect the 
imposition. In the present day there is not so great a 
demand for six-year-old horses as was formerly the case, 
and purchasers are contented with a nine or ten-year-old 
mouth, if the legs and constitution are fresh. Hence, bish- 
oping is seldom attempted, excepting with horses beyond 
the age of eleven or twelve; and the mere use of the burn- 
ing-iron without cutting off the teeth will seldom answer the 
purposes of the swindler. Formerly it was very common to 
see mouths with the corner nippers burnt to show a "good 
mark," and nothing else done to them ; but, for the reasons 
given above, the plan is now almost entirely abandoned. 

Irregularities in the growth of teeth are by no means 
uncommon in the horse, often caused by the practice of 
punching out the milk-teeth to hasten the growth of the 
permanent set. Instead of having this effect, however, the 
teeth are induced to take a wrong direction, and not meet- 
ing their fellows, they do not wear down as they naturally 
should. In punching out the corner nipper, it is very often 
broken off, and the fang is allowed to remain in the socket. 
The consequence is that the picking up of the food does 
not hasten the removal of the fang of the milk-tooth, and 
instead of accelerating the growth of the permanent tooth 
in the natural position, it retards it, and sometimes drives it 
to seek a passage through the gums behind its proper 
socket. Here, not meeting the corresponding nipper of the 
upper jaw, it grows like a tush, and has sometimes been 
mistaken for a second tooth of that kind. Some horses are 
naturally formed with "pig jaws" — that is to say, with the 
upper longer than the lower — and in these cases the whole 
set (;f teeth grows to a great length, interfering with the 
gra.sping of the food. 



PART VIII. 
VICES, UNSOUNDNESS, AND DISABILITIES. 



I. Vices. — According to the best English authorities, 
vices for which horses may be returned, except no guaran- 
tee is given, are: Biting, when showing vicious purpose; 
bolting (the habit of running away); crib-biting, and 
rearing; kicking, when determinate, that is, vicious; rest- 
iveness, amounting to balking, or refusal to follow the 
direction of the driver; also shying, when chronic; backing 
or gibbing, and also weaving in the stable. 

II. Warranty. — When a horse is bought, the war- 
ranty must be explicit and in writing, dated, with place, 
and properly signed. The following, to be correctly filled 
out, will cover the ground: 

(City, State, and date.) 

Received of (name) $ for (describe the animal, 

color, marks, and whether gelding, stallion, or mare), war- 
ranted years old, sound, free from vice, and quiet to 

drive or ride. 

$ (Signature of seller.) 

III. Unsoundness. — As to what should constitute 
unsoundness, Youatt and Walsh, both good English authori- 
ties, agree fairly in the following: 

Bog Spavin, in a slight degree only. 

A Broken Knee, unless the joint is injured so as to 
impair its functions, is not considered to be unsoundness. 

Capped Hocks and Elbows do not produce any lame- 
ness, nor do they in any way interfere with the action of 
the joints to which they are adjacent. 

(104) 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 105 

Contraction of the Foot is no evidence of disease, 
and, taken by itself, is not sufficient to prove it to be 
unsound. 

Cough, as long as it lasts. A horse with chronic cough 
is clearly returnable. 

Curbs constitute unsoundness; but the}^ must be shown 
to exist at the time of purchase, for a horse may throw one 
out immediately after he is transferred to the purchaser. 

Diseases, organic kind, in any of the internal viscera. 

Farcy and Glanders. It is illegal in many States to 
sell a horse with glanders or farcy, the latter being the 
first stage of this disease, fatal to tlie horse and man. 

Founder, or Laminitis, whether it produces lameness 
or not, if it manifestly has existed, is to be accepted as 
unsoundness; for when there is evidence of its previous 
occurrence, the laminae are injured so much as inevitably to 
lead to lameness when the horse is put to work. 

Megrims, when the attack comes on subsequently to 
the sale, and can be shown to have occurred before it. 

A Nerved Horse is unsound, from the existence of the 
disease for which the operation has been performed, as well 
as from the division of the nerves. 

Ophthalmia, if it can be proved to have previously 
existed, and comes on soon after the purchase, is to be 
received as unsoundness. So, also, when any of the evi- 
dences of its previous presence can be detected, and are 
proved by a veterinary surgeon, the horse is returnable. 

Ossification of any of the structures adjacent to the 
joints is unsoundness, and hence ossification of the lateral 
cartilages will be considered so, without doubt. 

Pumiced Foot, as evidence of laminitis. 

QuiDDiNG and Quittor. 

Ringbones and Sidebones, whether large or small, are 
undoubtedly sufficient to constitute a horse unsound. 



106 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

Roaring, Whistling, etc., as interfering with respira- 
tion. 

Ruptures of all kinds are decidedly unsoundness. 

Spavin (bone), although it may not have occasioned 
lameness, if it is clearly the disease so named. 

Stringhalt has been decided to be unsoundness 
( Thompson vs. Patter soil). 

Thick Wind, as marking some impediment to respira- 
tion. 

Thrush, when it is in one of its severe forms, and not 
caused by mismanagement. 

Thickening of the Back Sinews, or suspensory liga- 
ment, when existing to any extent easily appreciable, is to 
be received as a proof of unsoundness. 

IV, Disabilities. — These are bog spavin; broken 
knee, denoting a stumbler; capped hocks and elbows; 
contraction of the foot, if not from disease; curby hocks, 
cutting or interfering; splint, if it is so slight as not to pro- 
duce lameness; thorough-pin, if slight, but not to be safely 
warranted; thrush, if simply from mismanagement; soreness 
of the joints, and windgalls. 

V. Defective Laws of Warranty. — The law as 

to return of horses under warranty is not satisfactory 
in England; much less so in the United States. The better 
way, in the case of all animals worth over $ioo, is to get 
the paid opinion of a regular veterinary surgeon. Major 
General Sir F. Fitzwygram says: 

An excellent custom, not law, for there is no law on 
the subject, prevails in Ireland, namely, that the purchaser 
may take the horse to a veterinary surgeon of his own 
selection any time within forty-eight hours after the pur- 
chase; and that both parties are finally bound by his decis- 
ion. If the purchaser neglects to do so, the bargain is 
nevertheless complete at the end of the above time. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 107 

As regards soundness, it is most earnestly recom- 
mended that the seller only give a warranty of the above 
description, namely, "sound, subject to the opinion, to be 
taken within forty-eight hours, of a veterinary surgeon 
selected by the purchaser;" and on the other hand, we would 
advise a purchaser not to ask for anything more. 

It may however occur that the veterinary surgeon may 
recommend that a special warranty be given for a specified 
time on some particular points which he thinks suspicious. 
To such special warranty on any one point for a given time 
there seems no objection — either on the part of the buyer 
or of the seller. 

Warranties are also given as to freedom from vice. 
These are very apt to lead to difficulty. A horse may be 
quiet with one person and troublesome with another. A 
horse may be quiet if properly exercised, and fractious if 
left in the stable and overfed. Again, a horse with a really 
perfect mouth will often show temper, and perhaps rear, 
if the rider is rough with the reins. 

As regards the temper or vice, the intending purchaser 
ought to protect himself by riding or driving the animal, and 
ascertaining by such trial that he suits his hands and seat. 
Seeing a horse ridden by the dealer or his man is worth 
nothing. Horse-dealers, though they make a point of 
abusing their men and declaring that they have no " hands," 
in reality always provide themselves with good riders for 
the purpose of showing off their cattle to the best advan- 
tage. 

In trying a horse, the animal should always be ridden 
both alone and in company. Many vicious horses go quietly 
along with another horse, especially with one to which they 
are accustomed, whilst others go quietly alone which are 
excessively unpleasant to ride along with other horses. 
The horse, when tried in company, should always be ridden 



108 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

a little behind as well as in front of and alongside others. 
Some animals fidget all day unless they are in front, whilst 
others start and shy when in front, though quiet when 
ridden behind or with others. 

THE FRENCH LAW OF WARRANTY. 

In France, the law only gives relief in case of the 
appearance within a limited number of days of certain 
specified diseases or causes of lameness which were " latent," 
or, in other words, could not be detected at the time of 
purchase. It gives no relief in any cases in which the 
purchaser, by due caution or by employing a competent 
veterinary surgeon to examine the animal, might have 
protected himself. Such, at least, is the intended principle 
of the French law, though for reasons given below it seems 
to the writer to require some considerable modifications to 
bring its rules into complete harmony with its principle. 
The following is the text of the law: 

LATENT DEFECTS WHICH CANCEL THE SALE OF HORSES IN 
FRANCE. 

Article I. — i. Specific Ophthalmia; 2. Staggers; 3. 
Glanders; 4. Farcy; 5, Chronic affections of the chest or 
old achingsin the limbs, /. e., lumbago, rheumatism, etc.; 6. 
Inability to rein back; 7. Broken-wind; 8. Roaring; 9. 
Wind-sucking without using the teeth, /. e., without crib- 
biting; 10. Intermittent inguinal hernia; 1 1. Intermittent 
lameness arising from old causes. 

Art. II. — The time allowed for bringing the action 
to cancel the sale shall be exclusive of the day fixed for 
delivering the animal. 

Art. III. — Thirty days shall be allowed in cases of 
specific ophthalmia and staggers. 

Nine days in all other cases. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



109 



If the animal has been dehvered, or if it has been taken 
away from the residence of the seller, the time allowed 
shall be increased at the rate of one day for every thirty-one 
miles of distance from the residence of the seller to the 
place to which the animal is sent. 




PART IX 
BREEDING AND THE BREEDER'S ART. 



I. Wild vs. Domesticated Species of Ani- 
mals. — Of the one hundred and forty-three or more 
species of animals at present known and classified, there 
are not more than forty-five domesticated, and this 
includes not only those quadrupeds generally understood 
as animals, but includes the various birds and insects, as 
bees, the silk-worm, etc. Those most valuable to man are 
the horse, ass, ox, sheep, swine, goat, and dog. Of birds, 
dung-hill fowls, the turkey, guinea-hen, goose, and duck. 
Of insects, the silk-worm, in its varieties. Just how ani- 
mal nature has been broken up into the various families, 
subfamilies, species, and varieties is not necessary to our 
purpose here. Varieties and hybrids are what we are to 
consider; and also something as to the general laws of 
heredity in reproduction. 

The horse is represented zoologically by a single genus 
or family — Equus; and the different species, so far as 
known, as the ass, quagga, zebra, etc., are fertile together, 
and in some instances there have been produced fertile 
hybrids. The same may be said of the genus Bos, or 
horned cattle. For instance, the buffalo (bison of Amer- 
ica), and also other species, where tried, have produced 
fertile hybrids when crossed by domesticated cattle. 
Those of the buffalo-cow and the domestic bull are said 
to have produced hybrids that were fertile. The produc- 
tion of hybrids can only be valuable so far as that between 

(110) 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. Ill 

the male ass and the mare, and these simply on account of 
constitutional vigor, freedom, generally, from disease, and 
remarkable for longevity. Here it is simply the ability to 
labor that makes them valuable. 

II. Natural Species. — Species in nature are those 
forms with characters that remain constant from gen- 
eration to generation, departing therefrom only within 
simple rules of variation, within the limits of their specific 
characters; and, the individuals of the species being 
capable of reproducing their kind, it follows, as a matter 
of course, that there would be nothing gained by hybridiza- 
tion, except in the one point stated; for, again, even if 
hybrids were perfect in fertility with one or the other of 
the parents, the end would be the ultimate reversion to 
one or other of the types used in the act of reproduction. 
In the case of plants, it is different. They are propagated 
by budding and grafting, and hence a hybrid once ob- 
tained, it may be propagated indefinitely by this means. 
Grafting can not reproduce animal species. It is also 
probably true that hybrid plants are more surely fertile 
than are animals. 

III. Gestation and Its Period. — Gestation and its 
period ought to be thoroughly understood. The proper 
breeding age of animals is also a matter of importance. 
According to the observation of M. Teissier, a French 
observer, of five hundred and eighty-two mares which cop- 
ulated but once — the observation extending over forty 
years — the shortest period was two hundred and eighty- 
seven days, and the longest four hundred and nineteen 
days. Here is a difference of one hundred and thirty-two 
days between the shortest and longest period. 

The following table will not only show the gestation of 
the mare, but also other valuable tabulated matter: 



112 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



a C 



51 w 



II 



t.2 



fc a 






o o 



.2 

O Oo 

o a^'S 

DCS 
^0- ^ 



i- 2 



^ O O O «n<0 t>'vO O vO tn O O 



0> (X3 1-1 O vO O 
O o O O O O O 
CO CO m o^ *^ i/> ir> 



Tl-vnc^C^NMi-ii-iMN'*in 



M M >-< 1-1 vO O vO 



s 

O "! p ^ 



S 3 -- - 



^^ §3 ll I § g S ^^"^.^ ^^i'i-^t S S^ 8 S 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 113 

We also find that individual mares exceeded the ordi- 
nary period of eleven months by eighty-nine days. The 
results of many observations by various observers show 
the proper age for reproduction, the period of the repro- 
ductive functions, the number of males to one female, the 
most favorable season for copulation, and the shortest, 
the mean, and the longest period of gestation and incuba- 
tion of the various domestic animals. 

A curious fact, not stated in this table, is that the turkey 
sitting on the eggs of the hen, and on those of the duck, 
hastened incubation by two days sooner than when the 
eggs were incubated by the species which laid the eggs. 
These figures represent the average powers of reproduction, 
and may be accepted as the proper average limits of per- 
fect powers of generation in animals neither pampered nor 
starved. 

IV. Influences Affecting the Progeny. — It is 

accepted generally that the male and female each furnish 
a quota to the formation of the embryo, and, proved by the 
fact that each is represented in the offspring, " Stonehenge " 
held, and to our mind correctly, that as the nutrition of the 
embryo entirely depends upon the dam, it may be expected 
that the health of the offspring and its constitutional pow- 
ers will be more in accordance with her state than with that 
of the sire; yet, since the sire furnishes one-half of the 
original germ, it is not surprising that in externals and 
general character there is retained a fac-simile to a cer- 
tain extent of him. 

" Stonehenge " also says the influence of the male 
upon the embryo is partly dependent upon the fact that he 
furnishes a portion of its substance in the shape of a sperm- 
cell, but also in great measure upon the effect exerted upon 
the nervous system of the dam by him. Hence, the pre- 
ponderance of one or other of the parents will in great 



114 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

measure depend upon the greater or less strength of nerv- 
ous energy in each. But we may state that no general 
law is known by which this can be measured, nor is any- 
thing known of the laws which regulate the temperament, 
bodily or mental power, color or conformation of the result- 
ing offspring. 

Our belief as to the influence of the two parents, reason- 
ing from what we know of vegetable life, is that in the nour- 
ishment of the embryo the conditions are somewhat rela- 
tive to the influence of the stock on the graft. A scion 
of any given variety budded or grafted upon an unhealthy 
stock will be unhealthy, and upon a strong, healthy stock it 
will cause the scion to grow strong and healthy. Hence, 
naturally weak-constitutioned varieties, but which are 
highly organized otherwise, should be grafted on excep- 
tionally strong, healthy stock; and if it be necessary to sup- 
press redundancy of growth, rather weak -growing stocks 
should be selected, but always free from any hereditary 
disease or disability. Thus, in the breeding of animals, 
since the dam must wholly nourish the foetus, the aliment- 
ary powers of the dam should be perfect, just as in the fer- 
tilizing of one plant by another. If we wish to give vigor 
of constitution, we select a highly organized male pollen to 
fertilize the pistil of a strongly constitutioned variety. 
This proceeding is always upon the assumption that the 
female function furnishes the internal organization, the 
blood and viscera in animals, while the sire gives the exter- 
nal form and appearance, purity of blood, and vital power. 
The same general temperament being alike, we may reason- 
ably expect that there will be uniformity in the produce 
of animals properly coupled together. 

V. Nicking and Intercirculation. — To return to 

the horse, the sire heavy, vigorous in vital power and 
neirve, the progeny when the two animals " nick," as it is 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 116 

termed, will resemble the sire in outward conformation 
more than the dam. This term " nicking " is simply a word 
used to express the reproduction of the best qualities of the 
parents in the progeny. Hence, when a good " nick " has 
been produced, the female should be confined to the same 
sire thereafter. 

Why? 

The writer is fully satisfied, from careful observation 
during a quarter of a century of breeding, that continued 
copulation of a sire to the same dam, year after year, 
intensifies the sire's integrity in the production of the 
young. We believe there is intercirculation of blood 
between the dam and the foetus (to and from), and have 
never seen any thesis establishing the contrary. 

Harvey's theory is that as the blood of the mother circu- 
lates in the veins of the foetus, passed in for its nutrition 
and development by process of absorption and assimilation, 
so the blood of the foetus must in some degree commingle 
with that in the mother's veins, forming a sort of general 
circulation; and that the foetal blood is in part the blood 
of the male parent, and possesses elements and character- 
istics derived from him, the mother being, so to speak, 
inoculated with his blood and his peculiarities, and is "so 
engrafted into the system of the female as to be communi- 
cable by her to any offspring she may subsequently have 
by other males." 

VI. Power of the Male. — We have always advo- 
cated, and acted upon, this doctrine of Dr. Harvey, and 
have become more and more confirmed in its truth from 
constant observation, notwithstanding the failure some- 
times shown. Hence, animals escaping from domesticity 
soon assume a homogeneous character, from the blood of 
a single sire and dam, or few sires to many dams com- 
mingling, the law of nature being that the strongest 



ll(i rUK rKVlKll- lAKMlK IIOKSK HOOK. 

siro t.ikos tho tcmalos in season to the full oxtont ot" his 
powots. Not only this. but. in tho (.Mso ot" gregarious 
annuals, iho powers o( the n\ale may be hehl tor two or 
three generations, or until succeeded, through intirmily, by 
stronger sires. My individual practice, and substantiated 
by observation, sliows that a {.\An\ bred year after year to 
one sire, not only produces yoiuu.i' more and more like 
the sire, but th.u. in the course o( years, tho d.un pos- 
sesses the characteristics oi the sire i*.^ u greater or lesser 
extent, and this from the constant intercommunication of 
tho gomi intluonco oi tho sire on tho blood oi tho dam 
to growing fanus, and hence to the <.lam. Nevertheless, 
this need not be accepted positively, except by close obser- 
vation of continuous facts to fortify or measurably .uuuil. 

SKi.KcrivK IxKLUF.NCK. — The fact of sin\ilarity or 
abnormal intluence through tlie power of imagination, intlu- 
encing color, etc.. is .ilso worthy of continued and careful 
observation. 

One idea prevalent among a largo cl.iss oi brooders is 
that, having brought a breed to a fair state of perfection, 
there is thenceforth little ditttculty in keeping it so. Such, 
however, is not the fact. The greatest care in breeding is 
now nocoss.iry in the selection of sires and dams to perpet- 
uate the highest type. To do so, the advanced brooder 
nuist possess the qualituMtions of those great breeders 
whose names are counted on a few tingers in a century. 
The sires and dams must continue to stand tlie most vigor- 
ous tests possible to bo nuulo in connection with tho uses 
for which thoy arc intended. 

VII. General Laws of Breeding.— l ho general 
laws oi breeding m.iy bo summed up in few words. The 
study and experiment to carry them out nuist be constant, 
and as varving as constant. The imjMovemem of stock in 
some special lines, as in tho trotting-horse and in dairy 



'nil', I'kAlkll'. I'AKMI.U IKiKSI', IIOOK. 117 

rows, for iiislaiicc; tlicsc have; lucii iiilcnsilicd only williin 
( (»iii|),iiiilivcly a few y<Mis. '\'\\r. full frnilioii of what lias 
already \)v.ca\ produced iciiiaiiis to \n: carried oiiL. 

In the production of grades, tlu! principles involved in 
l)reedinj;- reipiire lo he made known, for it is here that, llu; 
avc;ra);e Ijrecders are to he Ix'.nefited. Wc beiiexc that 
none but males of ^ical const it iitional vi;;or, and ( arryinjj; 
the points re(piii'e(l to he pel petualed, should he used, and 
oni'e ohlained, it should he continued indelinilely ; that is 
in hreedin;;' j^rades, as nuuli of this hlood should he con- 
tinued in the progeny by inbreeding, sto|)i)ing short only 
when loss of vigor is shown in the offspring, and that, upon 
the introdiicl ion of new blood, t he same general prin( iple 
should be eariied further in breeding of well bred sires on 
the c;omuion stoi k of the country. In the case ot pure 
breeds, or t horoughbreds, 1 ha V(; t ;d<en four impressions of 
a |)iii'ed)red sii'c; upon his inniuidiate descendants with ( on- 
tinued im|)rovemcnL in the breeding of grades, resulting in 
progt;ny so strongly resembling the siictlial they would 
grade e'|ual to the |)ur(; stock-, except in pedlgi'ee. 

In this connection, it shdiild he remeud)eri d that this 
sire was a i)henonuuial animal, milling great vigoi- with 
large size, v.'duabh; muscular points, and the ability to 
impress upon his piogeny, through the dams, his characler- 
isties, and iiiteiisined by strong exercise, not only during 
the season of (;opulati(jn, but continued moderately 
throughout the entire year. 

VIII. The Value of Hybrids.- I'lu' hmgevity of 
hybrids seems to retpiirc; a passuig notice. Ltuigtii of life, 
wonderful powers of endurance, and fi-eedoin Irom disea.se 
con.stitute the sole value of hybrids. Hence, except in 
the case of the produce of tlu; ass and the mare, thel)reed- 
ing of hybrids has seldom been attempted. The only 
other case wIkmc it has been found of special value, so far 



118 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

as my observation extends, is in the coupling of the male 
linnet with the female canary. The progeny, if male 
birds, shows great longevity, and is of unequaled powers 
of song. The females, of course, are destroyed, since the 
progeny is unfertile. Here, as in the case of other hybrids, 
the male impresses the form and general outward charac- 
teristics, including color. The produce of any two species 
of living creatures within a genus is a mule. The same 
rule holds good in vegetables. The produce of the male 
ass and mare we call a mule; that of the stallion and 
gennet, a hinny. They differ much in their characteris- 
tics. Each in its outward conformation resembles its 
sire, and this law of resemblance seems pretty well fixed 
in relation to hybrids of whatsoever kind, though not so 
constantly as held by Mr. Orton, an English authority, 
the same being modified from that of Dr. Alexander 
Harvey, and agreeing substantially with those of Mr. 
Walker, whose observations cover a much broader field of 
observation. 

IX. A Law of Generation. — The conclusions of 
Mr. Orton, briefly stated, are, that in the progeny there is 
no haphazard blending of the parts or qualities of the two 
parents, but rather that organization is transmitted by 
halves, or that each parent contributes to the formation of 
certain structures and to the development of certain quali- 
ties. Advancing a step further, he maintains that the male 
parent chiefly determines the external characters, the gen- 
eral appearance, in fact, the outward structure and the 
locomotive powers of the offspring, as the framework, or 
bones and muscles, more particularly those of the limbs, 
the organs of sense, and skin; while the female parent 
chiefly determines the internal structures and the general 
quality, mainly furnishing the vital organs, /. e., the heart, 
lungs, glands, and digestive organs, and giving tone and 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 119 

character to the vital functions of secretions, nutrition, 
and growth; "not, however, that the male is without influ- 
ence on the internal organs and vital functions, or the 
female without influence on the external organs and loco- 
motive powers of their offspring. The law holds only within 
certain restrictions, and these form, as it were, a secondary 
law, one of limitations, and scarcely less important to be 
understood than the fundamental law itself." Mr. Orton 
relies chiefly on the evidence presented by hybrids, the 
progeny of distinct species, or by crosses between the 
most distinct varieties embraced within a single species, to 
establish his law. 

The examples adduced are chiefly from the former. 
The mule is the progeny of the male ass and the mare; the 
hinny that of the horse and the she ass. Both hybrids are 
the produce of the same set of animals. They differ 
widely, however, in their respective characters — the mule, 
in all that relates to its external character, having the dis- 
tinctive features of the ass; the hinny, in the same respects, 
having all the distinctive features of the horse, while in all 
that relates to the internal organs and vital qualities, the 
mule partakes of the character of the horse, and the hinny 
of those of the ass. Mr. Orton says: 

The mule, the produce of the male ass and mare, is 
essentially a modified ass — the ears are those of an ass 
somewhat shortened; the mane is that of the ass, erect; 
the tail is that of an ass; the skin and color are those of an 
ass somewhat modified; the legs are slender, and the hoofs 
high, narrow, and contracted, like those of an ass. In 
fact, in all these respects it is an ass somewhat modified. 
The body and barrel, however, of the mule are round and 
full, in which it differs from the ass and resembles the 
mare. The hinny, on the other hand, the produce of the 
stallion and she ass, is essentially a modified horse. The 
ears are those of a horse somewhat lengthened; the mane 
flowing; the tail bushy, like that of the horse; the skin is 



120 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

finer, like that of the horse, and the color varies, also, like 
the horse; the legs are stronger, and the hoofs broad and 
expanded, like those of the horse. In fact, in all these 
respects it is a horse somewhat modified. The body and 
barrel, however, of the hinny are flat and narrow, in which 
it differs from the horse and resembles the she ass. A very 
curious circumstance pertains to the voice of the mule and 
the hinny. The mule brays, the hinny neighs. The why 
and wherefore of this is a mystery, until we come to apply 
the knowledge afforded us by the law before given. The 
male gives the locomotive organs, and the muscles are 
amongst these; the muscles are the organs which modulate 
the voice of the animal; the mule has the muscular struct- 
ure of its sire, and brays; the hinny has the muscular 
structure of its sire, and neighs. 

Mr. Walker maintains that when both parents are of 
the same breed, that either parent may transmit either half 
of the organization; that when they are of different varieties 
or breeds (and, by parity of reasoning, the same should 
hold strongly when hybrids are produced by crossing dif- 
ferent species), and supposing, also, that both parents are 
of equal age and vigor, the male gives the back, head, and 
locomotive organs, and the female the face and nutritive 
organs. To use his language: 

When both parents are of the same variety, one parent 
communicates the anterior part of the head, the bony part 
of the face, the forms of the, organs of sense (the external 
ear, under lip, lower part of the nose, and eyebrows being 
often modified), and the whole of the internal nutritive sys- 
tem (the contents of the trunk or the thoracic and abdom- 
inal viscera, and, consequently, the form of the trunk itself, 
in so far as that depends on its contents). The resem- 
blance to that parent is, consequently, found in the fore- 
head and bony parts of the face, as the orbits, cheek-bones, 
jaws, chin, and teeth, as well as the shape of the organs of 
sense and the tone of the voice. 

The other parent communicates the posterior part of 
the head, the cerebral, situated within the skull immediately 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 121 

above its junction with the back of the neck, and the whole 
of the locomotive system (the bones, ligaments, and 
muscles, or fleshy parts). The resemblance to that parent is, 
consequently, found in the back head, the few more movable 
parts of the face, as the external ear, under lip, lower part 
of the nose, eyebrows, and the external forms of the body, 
in so far as they depend on the muscles, as well as the form 
of the limbs, even to the fingers, toes, and nails. * * * j^- 
is a fact established by my observations that in animals of 
the same variety, either the male or the female parent may 
give either series of organs as above arranged; that is, 
either forehead and organs of sense, together with the vital 
and nutritive organs, or back head, together with the loco- 
motive organs. 

X. Modifications from Selection. — While it is 
a fact that like will produce like, and that this is a fixed law 
of nature, it is not controverted by apparent departures 
therefrom. In the act of domesticating an animal from the 
feral state, not only their natural instincts must be changed, 
but considerable physical changes ensue. Better feeding, 
peculiarities of exercise, care, and training, modify and 
permanently alter the structure. The animal at length 
becomes physically distinct, and reproduces these physical 
characteristics. Yet in all this there is no sudden depart- 
ure, though the change from the feral may be a distinctive 
one, except in general characteristics. Hence the necessity 
that every part of the conformation of the animal be under- 
stood by the breeder. 

We must be able to detect slight modifications in order 
to reproduce and still further build upon them, to organize 
and perpetuate either forms of beauty or utility. Selection, 
in fact, is the sheet-anchor in all improvement. Neverthe- 
less, form is a no less important integer. Lord Rivers' 
answer, that he '' destroyed many fine greyhounds in the 
breeding of many," gives the true idea. Dickson's saying, 
that "he will prove the most successful breeder who selects 



122 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

with the most correct judgment," is as true to-day as it was 
one hundred years ago; and Fitzherbert, who wrote in the 
middle of the sixteenth century, simply voiced Columella 
when he stated that cattle taken from better pastures and 
brought to a " lean " one, " wyll not lyke with thee." 

HEREDITY OF DISABILITY. 

If domestic animals have not so good lungs and livers 
as wild ones, it is from lack of exercise, and, consequently, 
active digestion. It is not necessary that they have so 
ample lung-power except in the case of animals of labor 
or speed. Yet, since good lungs and digestion are the 
essence of value in animals, care must be taken that 
these important organs and their functions do not fall 
below the normal qualifications necessary to use. If so, it 
lays the foundation for all other disabilities, and these will 
result in hereditary disease or disability, such as scrofula, 
rheumatism, rickets, chronic cough, roaring, ophthalmia, 
grease, spavin, curb, etc. Youatt voiced what now has 
been generally found to be true when he stated that 
" there is scarcely a malady to which the horse is subject 
that is not hereditary — contracted feet, curb, spavin, thick- 
wind, blindness, notoriously descend from the sire and dam 
to the foal." The same is true of the other domestic ani- 
mals. Scrofula, diseases of the brain and of the digestive 
and respiratory organs, are not uncommon in sheep. Epi- 
lepsy and rheumatism also occur. Swine are naturally 
prone to epilepsy and scrofula. 

The aim of the intelligent breeder must now be directed 
to breed out this tendency to particular disabilities, both by 
the infusion of blood least tending in these directions, and 
by careful selection of young breeding animals. A strong 
integer here will be found in not allowing an animal to 
breed until mature, to cease breeding from them when they 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 123 

have lost their full vigor, and to be sure that no breeding 
animals be kept in a state of quietude, on stimulating food. 
I consider full exercise for breeding animals among the 
most important of any of the principles leading to success- 
ful outcome. It is especially necessary in all animals of 
speed, if indeed it be not so in all that class of animals 
kept for their food products, since with these exercise has 
been most signally ignored. 

XL Production of Sex at Will. — Much has been 
stated, first and last, in relation to the production of sex at 
will. It may be as well to state that, so far, there is no direct 
evidence that the production of sex may be controlled in 
the slightest degree. The whole matter is mere theory, 
and not even founded on fact. The opinions of some sci- 
entific experts will show the truth of this statement. 

Prof. A. J. Cook, of the Michigan Agricultural College, 
says: 

As yet there is no known way to breed for sex. There 
is quite a general belief that there is an alternation of sex; 
that is, that if a cow gives birth to a heifer this year, she 
will probably bear a male calf next year. Doctor Sturtevant 
expressed the opinion a few years since that the breeder 
could control sex by taking note of this fact. He argued 
that the eggs alternated as to sex. Hence, if a cow bear a 
heifer this year, and one heat has passed before impregna- 
tion occurred, then a heifer would result next year. It is 
certain that there is a tendency to this alternation; but 
there are so many exceptions to it as a rule that we may 
well wonder whether it is more than this, that most animals 
bear about the same number of males and females; hence, 
if a male was last brought forth, a female will be more 
probable at next parturition. In buying cattle, I always like 
to know that the cow bore a bull calf last; then I expect 
a heifer next. So far I have never been disappointed. 

Prof. J. W. Sanborn, of the Missouri Agricultural Col- 
lege, has no faith in any of the theories of breeding for sex. 



124 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

" No living or dead man holds any secret or open knowledge 
of how to control sex. Prepotency sometimes is noted in 
animals, and varies with seasons, and may be due to phys- 
ical causes or surroundings that affect either sex in vigor, 
etc. Hilt while we observe these variations, no man and 
no accumulation of facts allow us to say that any proced- 
ure will bring this or that sex " 

Prof. I. P. Roberts, of Cornell University, New York, 
goes more into detail in relation to this matter. He 
believes that the laws which govern sex in the progeny are 
little understood. He might have said they are not under- 
stood at all. 

Sir Everett Howe believed the ovum to be sexless, and 
that the sex might not be confirmed until some time after 
copulation. It is the fact that sex is not shown in the very 
early foetal life, but this does not prove that the final deter- 
mination of sex depends upon the potentiality given to the 
germ by one or other of the parents. 

Mr. 'V. A. Knight was of the firm opinion that the 
female parent determined the sex of the offspring. M. Giron, 
after long and painstaking experiments, concluded that 
sex depends upon the relative vigor of the animals coupled. 
" While keeping large flocks of merino sheep some years 
since, in the West," says Professor Roberts, *' I observed 
that nearly all of the lambs first dropped were males. As ewe 
lambs were more desirable, this caused some solicitude, but 
as the yeaning progressed the sexes were about evenly 
divided, and later on the females predominated; finally the 
few scattering lambs yeaned in June would be males. This 
was so common throughout the sheep district that every 
observing flock-master remarked upon it, and it was inva- 
riably explained by the fact that the rams, being more highly 
fed and fitted, were more vigorous than the ew^es at the 
beginning of the breeding season; later on they were less 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 125 

vigorous; finally, after the ewes were nearly all pregnant, 
the rams recuperated and were again more vigorous than 
the few scattering ewes that they met." 

Some observations in France appear to show that ewes 
producing females are of a greater average weight than are 
those that produce males, and that they lose less in weight 
while nursing than the former. There is, without doubt, 
much reliable evidence which points unmistakably toward 
the government of sex by the parent having the greater 
vigor. It must not be forgotten that the hard- worked, lean 
female often has far more reproductive vigor than the more 
fleshy and pampered male 

With most wild animals, the progeny is the offspring of 
the strongest males, hence we might expect that males 
would predominate; but the other fact must be considered, 
namely, that the most vigorous females tend, as we have 
seen, to produce progeny of their own sex. 

There is another theory which has found many believ- 
ers in the United States. It is that after an animal has 
once conceived and borne progeny the sex may be governed 
by noting the desires of the female. If her last progeny 
be a male, her first desire, if bred, would produce a female, 
the second a male, the third a female, and so on. Closely 
allied to this theory is the one that in such animals as the 
cat and pig, which produce several young at a birth, each 
alternate swelling of the uterus produces progeny of the 
same sex; that is, if the sack next to the vagina produces 
a male, sacks three, five, and seven will; and sacks two, 
four, six, and eight will produce females. In the above 
case, if sacks two and four fail to conceive, then the prog- 
eny would consist of four males and two females. "This 
theory," says Professor Roberts, "has been proven, by 
investigations conducted on the University farm, to be 
totallN' unreliable." 



126 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

After careful and painstaking observation, study, and 
inquiry, this gentleman is led to believe that the parent 
having the most healthy and the greatest sexual and physical 
vigor will, in a very large majority of cases, not only control 
the sex, but will transmit to the offspring its qualities and 
characteristics, be they good or bad, in more marked degree 
than the parent having qualities less vigorous and healthy. 
In all other respects except sex, we all admit that the 
stronger blood governs to a greater degree than the 
weaker; and what is stronger blood but improvement, by 
improved environments and selection, of the best? and the 
best is always the most vigorous in the qualities which we 
most desire to perpetuate and improve. 

If we desire trotters, or beef, or milk, we select animals 
which are most vigorous in these respective directions, 
expecting improvement in the offspring though coupled 
with animals inferior to themselves. Failure to realize 
expectations is usually due to want of knowledge or judg- 
ment. If, then, superiority controls more largely than 
inferiority in all other directions, why not in the direction 
of sex? 

Nevertheless, the whole subject is mere theory since 
none of these experiments have been verified. 



PART X 



COMMON DISEASES OF THE HORSE. 



I. Diseases of the Eyes. — In all specific diseases of 
the eyes, it is best to call a veterinarian. For inflamed eyes, 
the result of some foreign substance getting therein, an 
effective and simple remedy is to raise the eyelid and blow 
a very little finely granulated sugar against the eye and 
immediately drop the lid. For constitutional diseases of 
the eye, little or nothing can be done. The veterinarian, if 
called in, will be able to indicate the treatment that may 
be available. 

As indicative of temper, intelligence, etc., however, the 
eye of the horse is very striking. The illustrations, Figures 
I, 2, 3, 4, will give a good idea of the organ: 




Fig. 1. 
Watchful and Timid. 



Fig. 2. 
Honest Eye. 




Fig. 4. 
Pig-eyed. 



So far as the treatment of common diseases is con- 
cerned, we propose to cover the list, generally, as to those 
requiring extended explanation, from the newest and best 
authorities extant, giving credit to the authorities con- 
sulted. Among the later works distinctively on the horse 
is the thick volume of Major-General Sir F, Fitzwygram, 
Bart,, who has contributed largely in his printed works, in 

(127) 



128 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

England, to practical veterinary literature in its various 
departments. The extended descriptions of diseases will 
largely be taken from his late valuable writings, as given 
in the following, unless otherwise noted: 

II. Distinctive Coughs. — These may be divided 
into seven classes, namely: 

1. The hard, dry cough, which arises from dryness of 
the membrane of the air-passages. It is found in the early 
stage of inflammatory attack... 

2. The moist cough, which marks the second stage of 
an inflammatory attack, when the inflamed membrane has 
again begun to throw out secretions. 

3. The rattling or wheezing cough, which is found 
when the windpipe is choked with mucus. 

4. The soft, suppressed cough, which marks the pres- 
ence of inflammation in the lungs; and a suppressed, but 
somewhat harder cough, which denotes inflammation in 
the pleura. The peculiar suppressed character of these 
coughs is due to the pain which the act of coughing pro- 
duces on account of the inflamed state of the lungs or 
pleura. 

5. The chronic cough, which is usually dry and short, 
and (except when associated with broken-wind or roaring) 
of an intermittent character, indicates alteration of struct- 
ure or confirmed irritability of some portions of the res- 
piratory organs. 

6. A short, hollow, weak, asthmatical cough, which is 
peculiar to broken-wind. 

7. A deep, hollow cough, which is generally found to 
accompany roaring. 

III. Catarrh, or Common Cold.— (<2:.) Symptoms. — 
The premonitory symptoms are loss of appetite, dullness 
of the eye, staring of the coat, a tendency to sweat upon 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HOR^E BOOK. 129 

slight exertion, and a little watery discharge from the nos- 
trils. These are followed by slight feverishness, slightly 
quickened pulse and somewhat hurried breathing, and a 
hot mouth. The bowels are usually constipated. In most 
cases, the throat is more or less sore. 

If the disease runs on, the glands under the jaw be- 
come inflamed and swollen from sympathy with the inflam- 
mation existing in their neighborhood. If the throat 
become positively sore, laryngitis may be said to have 
supervened. 

(d.) Treatment. — The treatment required in the first 
instance is simply removal to a cool, loose box, with 
abundance of fresh air, extra warm clothing, flannel 
bandages to the legs, deprivation of grain, warm mashes, 
and laxative diet. With proper care, no case of incipient 
catarrh ought ever to be allowed to develop itself into any 
serious mischief. A very few days will in general see the 
patient restored to health. 

If, however, the running at tht- nose is considerable and 
the cough troublesome, it will be advisable to steam the 
head frequently during the day; and if the patient becomes 
feverish, a dose consisting of half an ounce of sweet spirits 
of nitre and two drams of nitrate of potassa may be given 
once or twice a day for two or three days. Active 
purgative medicine in this, as in all diseases in which the 
respiratory organs are affected, is wholly inadmissible; but 
if the bowels are constipated, instead of the previous med- 
icine a dose consisting of two ounces of Epsom salts with 
half an ounce of nitrate of potassa may be given twice a 
day until the desired effect is produced. If there is de- 
pression, with staring coat and unequal heat in the legs, one 
ounce of spirits of nitric ether and four ounces of acetate 
of ammonia may also be administered, in a pint of water, 
morning and evening. 
e 



130 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

Catarrh, if neglected, readily runs into laryngitis, bron- 
chitis, pneumonia, or other disease of the respiratory organs. 
In some few cases it becomes chronic, and is then known 
as nasal gleet. 

IV. Laryngitis and Sore Throat. — The seat of 
laryngitis is in the membrane covering the upper part of 
the larynx, or box of the windpipe. When the pharynx, 
or back part of the swallow, is affected, the disease is 
termed sore throat. Both affections proceed from inflam- 
mation of the mucous membrane of the parts, and as both 
parts are usually affected at the same time, they generally 
exist in combination, and we may therefore, for practical 
purposes, treat these affections as one disease. 

[a.) Sympto/ns. — The earliest symptoms of laryngitis 
combined with sore throat are cough and difficulty of swal- 
lowing solids, or even liquids. The mouth is hot, and the 
horse is disinclined to eat, or perhaps "quids" his hay, /. ^., 
lets the masticated hay fall out of his mouth. He only 
sips his water, or takes it by small mouthfuls. The region of 
the gullet and fauces is hot and tender, and the least press- 
ure on it often produces a paroxysm of coughing. The 
salivary glands throughout are swollen and tender. The 
difficulty in swallowing arises from the irritated state of 
the membrane at the back part of the palate, over which tlie 
food must pass. The horse also uses much mastication, in 
order to produce an amount of saliva which may shield the 
irritated membrane during the passage of the food. Hence 
we tind much slobbering from the mouth, and frequently, 
in bad cases, when the animal drinks, a portion of the water 
comes back through the nostrils, and occasionally part of 
the food is returned in the same way. The cough peculiar 
to this disease is distinguished by its evidently proceeding 
from the top of the windpipe, and further by its being- 
sharp and troublesome, not suppressed as in pneumonia. 



THK PRAIRIK I'ARMKK HORSK HOOK. \'-')l 

The pulse is quick and the respiration somewhat hur- 
ried. If the disease is not checked, the cough will become 
very hard and harassing, and we may expect fever to 
supervene. Fever, however, is only a concomitant .symp- 
tom, and our attention must not be diverted to it from the 
real disease. The fever will subside as soon as the irrita- 
tion which causes it is removed. 

((^.) Treatment. — In the earliest stage, the treatment 
consists in removing the patient to a loose box with an abun- 
dant supply of fresh air. The diet must be restricted to 
soft food. The horse should be fed from a temporary 
manger, placed so as to suit the height at which in this dis- 
ease he generally carries his head. Grass is by far the best 
food; but when it can not be procured, carrots, or bran- 
mash, or linseed gruel may be substituted. Hay is wholly 
inadmissible, as it can not be properly masticated, and its 
long, dry fibres will be certain to cause irritation in the 
throat. 

Active purgative medicine is injurious in this as in all 
other diseases of the air-passages, because the patient's 
strength always fails very rapidly from want of due purifi- 
cation of the blood in the lungs; and therefore he can not 
bear any such lowering treatment. Aloes, in particular, on 
account of sympathy between the inflamed mucous mem- 
brane of the throat and the mucous membrane of the bow- 
els, is very apt to produce super-purgation. 

If it is desired to produce a slight action on the bowels, 
two ounces of Epsom salts may be given morning and 
evening for two or three days, in a pint of water, with two 
drams of ginger. If the salts do not act on the bowels, 
they will do so on the kidneys. A tablespoonful of common 
salt may also, with advantage, be mixed in a bran-mash. 
It will make the patient thirsty, and cause him to drink 
more freely. 



133 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



Febrifuges, in the form of small doses of half a dram 
of belladonna and an ounce of nitre, made up into a soft 
bafl or dissolved in water, may also be given. 

A stimulant, such as mustard, or mustard and ammonia, 
may be beneficially applied to the throat and upper portion 
of the trachea, with the view of rousing the parts to a new 
and healthier action. When the disease is complicated 
with strangles, the persistent use of warm poultices or 
fomentations to the throat, and the opening of any tumors 
or abscesses as soon as they begin to point, will assist in 
allaying the inflammation. 

The strength must be supported as much as possible by 
careful attention to the appetite and good nursing. Grass, 
carrots, or warm mashes may be offered in very small 
quantities at a time. Demulcent drinks, such as linseed- 
tea, hay-tea, or gruel, are useful and often acceptable. 
Water should always be within reach. 

Steaming of the head with the vapor arising from boil- 
ing water poured on hay in a bucket is generally very ben- 
eficial. If there is much irritability of the membrane, it 
will be advisable to pour four ounces of chloroform or 
chloric ether on the hay. The patient will inhale it along 
with the steam. In many cases the effect of this treatment 
in allaying irritation is very marked. 

Should the steaming apparatus appear to distress the 
animal, it must be used only for a limited period, and be 

reapplied after its 
effect has subsided. 




To aid its operation, 
take soft hay, soak 
it in boiling water. 

Eight-tailed Bandage. and fix it Upon the 

throat by means of an eight-tailed bandage, a representa- 
tion of which is given. To make this, take a piece of stout 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 133 

flannel, one yard and a quarter long and nine inches wide. 
Three slits are to be made at either end, each a quarter of 
of a yard deep. This is placed round the throat and the 
ends tied, four in front of and four behind the ears. 

The warmth of the body must be maintained by cloth- 
ing, and the legs should be wrapped in flannel bandages. 
At intervals, according to the circumstances of the case, the 
bandages should be removed and hand-rubbing applied 
until warmth is restored. 

Another, and it is very good practice when it can be 
managed, but there is often a good deal of difficulty in 
effecting it, consists in cauterizing the inflamed membrane 
by appling to it a sponge, neatly tied on the end of a stick, 
saturated with a solution of twenty grains of nitrate of 
silver to an ounce of water. The attack, if taken in time, 
may often by this means be cut short. The horse's mouth 
must be kept open by means of a balling-iron whilst the 
operation is performed. 

(c.) Signs of Recovery. — The first sign of recovery is a 
slight mucous discharge from the nostrils, indicating that 
the inflammatory action is subsiding. There will also be 
some slobbering of saliva at the mouth, and the cough will 
become softer; and the mucus discharged from the 
inflamed surfaces will be coughed up and got rid of, partly 
by the nose and partly by the mouth, and in due time the 
cough will cease. The swelling of the parotid glands and 
of the glands under the jaws will also gradually subside. 
The concomitant fever mentioned above will cease of itself 
along with the irritation which produced it. 

(^.) After-treatment. — The after-treatment will need 
much care and attention. Some deposit on or thickening 
of the membrane generally renjains after the attack has 
subsided, which may cause the horse to become a roarer; 
and in order to assist nature to remove it, and thereby 



134 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

lessen the chance of any affection of the wind, it is advisa- 
ble to apply a strong blister of biniodide of mercury. Min- 
eral tonics may also be given. (See recipes.) The patient 
should remain in a cool, loose box until all irritation has 
completely passed away. 

Again, when the horse is thoroughly convalescent, the 
owner must not be in a hurry to get him into fast work, 
because the membrane of the larynx and pharynx will 
continue to be for some time very susceptible to irritation 
and inflammation. Great attention must also be given to 
the ventilation of the stable. 

When the discharge from the nostrils continues for a 
length of time, even after the horse has in other respects 
recovered, the case must be treated as one of nasal gleet. 
In this case apply to a veterinarian. 

V, Bronchitis. — The first positive sign of bron- 
chitis is indicated by a quickened breathing, accompanied 
with a slight whistling or hissing sound heard on ausculta- 
tion at the sides of the chest, or else by a deeper and more 
noisy sound in front of the chest. The whistling sound is 
technically known as sibilus, and marks inflammation of 
the smaller tubes; whilst the deeper sound indicates inflam- 
mation of the larger tubes. The peculiarity of these sounds 
arises from the passage of the air over a dry, inflamed mem- 
brane in the tubes. During this, or the " dry stage," the 
pulse is harder and quicker than natural, and as the 
disease progresses it becomes quicker and smaller, until in 
very bad cases it can be no longer felt. The breathing is 
also much quickened, and the membrane of the nostril is 
red and inflamed. 

Increase of the attack is marked by hurried breathing, 
dilatation of the nostrils, heaving of the flanks, much fever, 
a highly inflamed state of the Schneiderian membrane, and 
rapid prostration of the strength. A peculiarity of the 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 135 

breathing may also be noticed, namely, that the act of 
inspiration is performed with difficulty, whilst that of 
expiration is effected with comparative ease. The breath- 
ing also may be quicker than the pulse. 

In pure bronchitis the throat is not affected. The dis- 
ease is in the bronchial tubes, either great or small, but 
not in the larynx or trachea. If, however, bronchitis super- 
venes on a previous attack of catarrh or sore throat, the 
larynx and trachea will necessarily be involved. 

The causes of bronchitis are similar to those of catarrh 
and sore throat. 

{a.) Treatment. — At the very earliest symptom, the 
patient should be removed to an airy, loose box, warmly 
clothed, bandages applied to his legs, and his food restricted 
to grass, carrots, or bran-mash. If the legs are unequal in 
warmth and the coat is inclined to stare, it will be advisa- 
ble to give an ounce of spirits of nitric ether, with four 
ounces of acetate of ammonia, in eight ounces of water both 
morning and evening, and a ball consisting of two drams 
each of resin, nitre, and antimony. If these precautions 
are taken sufficiently early, the threatened attack will prob- 
ably be averted. A good servant will always notice the 
slightest deviation from health in the horses under his 
charge, whilst careless, ignorant servants seldom see any- 
thing wrong until disease has fully established itself. 

If, however, the attack is not averted, some sedative 
medicine will be needed, such as from five to ten drops of 
Fleming's tincture of aconite every four hours; but this 
medicine must not be continued after the pulse has become 
soft, which in favorable cases is usually in about twenty- 
four hours. If aconite does not produce the desired effect 
in that time, its use should be discontinued. Its action on 
the system, though beneficial for a certain purpose and at a 
certain time, is too lowering to admit of prolonged use. 



136 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



After a time the pulse usually becomes weak and the 
patient is prostrated. Diffusible stimulants, such as car- 
bonate of ammonia in doses of one dram, or sweet spirits 
of nitre or sulphuric ether in doses of half to one ounce, 
repeated every four or six hours, are now needed, and may 
be continued until signs of relief are apparent. If the horse 
is inclined to drink, half an ounce of nitre may be dis- 
solved in each half-pailful of water until the kidneys are 
freely acted on. 

Inhalation of the steam arising from boiling water 
poured over hay will also be found to give much relief, and 
should be made a main point of treatment. The steam 
relieves the irritated membrane and tends to loosen the 
mucus, and thereby relieves the cough. A small quantity 
of chloric ether may also at intervals be poured on the 
hay, and will assist the above effect. 

May hew advises dressing the horse as follows: 

Some scalded hay is to be fixed under the throat by 

,■• ^ means of an 

jjyiltH'^^-^^ eight - tailed 

-^pi^, .•:S^ bandage. A 

mackintosh 

(waterproof) 

jacket is then 

laid on the 

floor, and the 

horse gently 

led forward 

^^^\ till one leg 

rests within 

one armhole; 

the opposite 

leg is to be raised and put through the ether opening. The 
cloth is next lifted up and temporarily fixed upon the 




Dressed for Bi'onchitis. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 137 

animal. Afterward, have six pieces of flannel, two three 
yards long and the entire width of the fabric, the others half 
a yard long and a foot wide. Saturate three of these with 
cold water; having folded the long piece, apply it over the 
back, equally to either side; the short pieces place upon 
the sides of the chest; fasten the jacket over the spine. 
When the flannel is warm, remove it; replace it immedi- 
ately with other flannels, which should be ready for this 
purpose. Do this continuously for at least a couple of 
hours, after which time the flannel may remain on, but 
must on no account be suffered to become dry. The 
jacket and flannel should be worn for a week subsequent 
to restoration. 

Aloes and strong purgatives are inadmissible. If the 
bowels are constipated, two ounces of Epsom salts with 
half an ounce of nitrate of potassa may be given twice a 
day until a slight effect is produced. In some few cases there 
may be yellowness of the eye and of the membrane of the 
mouth. This will be found to be caused from overaction 
of the liver. No treatment is required. 

When, as is often the case, notwithstanding hand-rub- 
bing and bandages, the legs remain persistently cold, the 
best plan is to apply ammonia liniment to them and then 
to replace the bandages. 

In addition to the above treatment, the front part or the 
sides of the chest should be stimulated with mustard. As 
soon as the irritant effect of the mustard has ceased, which 
will be in about fifteen minutes, it should be washed off. 
In about two hours the application may be repeated, and 
again washed off as before; and this process may be 
repeated at intervals until signs of relief are apparent. 

If signs of recovery do not become apparent, the dis- 
ease will probably extend to the lung tissue or to its cov- 
ering membrane, and we shall probably have the case 



138 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

complicated with pneumonia or pleurisy. A horse may 
die of pure bronchitis, but in fatal cases the disease gener- 
ally runs into pneumonia or pleurisy before death. If 
these complications arise, send for a veterinarian. 

(^.) Signs of Recovery. — Nature, assisted by the above 
remedies, generally brings about a favorable change in a few 
days. The pulse, although still quick, becomes more distinct, 
the breathing more tranquil and regular, the feverish symp- 
toms decrease, the cough becomes of a stronger character, 
and there is a discharge of mucus from the nose. The 
membrane lining the nostrils assumes a more natural color, 
the mouth feels more moist and cooler, the animal lies 
down comfortably, and the appetite returns. Sometimes a 
slight diarrhea is the turning-point of the disease, and it 
is not advisable to check it unless it becomes severe. 

(<:.) Aftcr-treatfiieut. — The nasal discharge should be 
encouraged by steaming the head. In some cases, the col- 
lection of the mucus in the bronchial tubes, notwithstand- 
ing the subsidence of the acute attack, is very troublesome; 
and the breathing becomes heavy and accompanied with a 
wheezing noise, especially when the animal coughs. The 
steaming recommended above will assist in its removal, and 
in due time the mucus will be got rid of by coughing, and 
then the cough will cease. The body and the legs must be 
kept warm by clothing and bandages, whilst the box 
should be freely ventilated. Good nursing of the patient 
in every way is of primary importance. 

VI. Pneumonia, Pleuritis, and Pleuro-pneu- 
monia. — These diseases are cognate in their causes and 
nature; hence the treatment required is also very similar. 

When any of the premonitory symptoms, such as slight 
catarrh, feverishness, dullness, or loss of appetite, appear, 
we must at once have recourse to an abundant supply of 
cool, fresh air, abstinence from grain, laxative diet, entire 



THE .PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 139 

rest, extra clothing, and warm bandages to the legs. In all 
cases, it is desirable that the patient should at once be 
removed to an airy, loose box. Diffusible stimulants are 
also beneficial. 

If these simple remedies do not altogether avert, or at 
least bring about subsidence of the attack within a very 
short time, we must have recourse to medical treatment. 

(a.) Treatment of the Attack. — During the first, or dry 
stage, sedatives, such as from five to ten drops of Flem- 
ing's tincture of aconite, may be given every four to six 
hours, if the fever be high (but not otherwise), until relief, 
as indicated by the pulse becoming softer in character and 
lower in number, is obtained. 

Neutral salts dissolved in water have a marked eftect in 
relieving the breath. For this purpose, two ounces of sul- 
phate of soda or one ounce of nitrate of potassa may be 
dissolved in a pailful of water, and the patient may be 
allowed to drink as much as he pleases. If he finishes the 
pailful, another may be given him. If the bowels are con- 
stipated, as is often the case, two ounces of Epsom salts 
dissolved in water with half an ounce of nitrate of potassa 
may be administered twice a day. 

If the legs, notwithstanding friction and bandages, re- 
main persistently cold, a mustard plaster may be applied 
to them, and washed off after fifteen minutes and the 
bandages reapplied, or they may be rubbed with turpentine 
liniment. 

Diffusible stimulants, which were recommended above 
during the premonitory symptoms, are not suitable during 
the dry stage, or at least during such portion of it as 
aconite is administered with the view of lowering the pulse. 
But when the strength begins to fail, as is often the case 
after the dry stage has continued for some time, and dur- 
ing the second or moist stage, diffusible stimulants, such as 



140 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



carbonate of ammonia in doses of from one to two drams, 
combined with small doses of gentian and ginger once or 
twice a day, or half an ounce of sweet spirits of nitre re- 
peated every four or six hours, are very beneficial, and may 
be given from time to time, as may be required. 

During both the dry and the moist stage, much relief 
will be afforded to the internal organs by stimulating fre- 
quently the sides and chest, though on each occasion 
mildly, with mustard and ammonia. The stimulating effect 

caused b}^ these agents 
^:,.- , is produced very 

rapidly. It will be 
sufficient to allow them 
to remain on the skin 
about ten or fifteen 
minutes, after which 
they should be washed 
off. If the mustard is 
allowed to remain on 
longer, it loses its 
stimulating action and 
is apt to be absorbed 
into the system, where 
it will act injuriously. When the effect of the stimulant 
has passed off, say in a couple of hours, it may be 
repeated, and again washed off as before. These appli- 
cations may be used occasionally, if relief appears to be 
gained by them. If ordinary household mustard, which is 
usually largely adulterated with flour, be used, half a pound, 
or about that quantity, will be required at each application; 
b it if the mustard is pure, about two-thirds of that quan- 
tity will be sufficient. In these cases, however, as in most 
others, much must be left to the discretion of the attendant, 
who ought to watch the symptoms and the effect produced. 




Aggravated Pneumonia. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 141 

The skin of some horses is much more easily acted on than 
that of others. 

As the disease progresses, sustain the strength of the 
patient as far as possible by giving soft, nutritious food, 
by most attentive nursing, and by warmth applied to the 
body by means of clothing, etc. 

It is necessary to call particular attention to the dis- 
tinction in regard to diet which exists between the pre- 
monitory and the later stages of the attack. In the 
former, the patient must be deprived of all grain and fed 
on laxative diet. Such timely measures, combined with a 
loose box, will probably ward off the impending attack, or 
at least prevent its becoming serious; whilst, on the other 
hand, when the disease has fairly established itself, the 
strength of the patient needs to be sustained, in order to 
enable him to throw it off and survive its debilitating 
effects. When, however, the disease has established itself, 
the appetite always fails, and the difficulty is to get the 
patient to take any nutriment. His appetite must be 
tempted by whatever may seem at the moment to be pal- 
atable. A handful of sweet grass, a carrot or two sliced 
lengthways, or a few mouthfuls of bran-mash or of oat- 
meal gruel, made fresh as required, or a few bruised oats, 
may be tried. Skim-milk at this stage will be found very 
useful in sustaining the strength. 

As a general rule, these diseases terminate quickly and 
favorably, and without any after injurious effects, when 
treated as recommended above. It is only when the system 
is unduly lowered, or the fever is aggravated by the use of 
violent blisters, that we have reason to fear an unfavorable 
termination. 

VII, Strangles, Generally Called Distemper.— 

In the beginning, the horse is sick and oft' his feed, and 
perhaps has a slight catarrh, with feverish symptoms. In 



142 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

a day or two, the glands under the jaw or behind the ear 
begin to swell. Partly from the effect of the fever which 
accompanies the attack, and partly from sympathy, the 
throat also becomes sore; and hence arises difficulty in 
swallowing, with much slobbering and some acceleration of 
the breathing. 

When the tumor forms, and is of the ordinary size, the 
abscess generally comes to maturity without much trouble or 
inconvenience. 

If, however, the tumor is situated high up toward the 
parotid glands, the distress in the breathing will often be 
very great, and the feverish symptoms will run high. The 

noisy breathing which 
forms so marked a feat- 
ure in most severe cases, 
and from which the dis- 
ease obtains its name, 
is owing partly to the 
tumor, formed in the 
neighborhood of the 

strangles, Characteristics. ^ • j i j 

parotid glands, pressing 
on the larynx, and partly, also, to the inflamed and swollen 
state of the lining membrane of the larynx, which becomes 
inflamed by sympathy. The tumor often becomes exceed- 
ingly large, and the patient may get excessively weak from 
being unable to masticate his food. In some cases, the 
animal may be in danger of suffocation from obstruction 
of the breathing caused by the size and situation of the 
tumor. 

Again, from general derangement of the secretions of 
the body, owing to the eruptive disease existing in one 
part, the pores of the skin cease to act properly, and, in 
consequence, the skin becomes dry and the coat is harsh 
and staring. 




THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 143 

(a.) General Treatment. — As usual with eruptive dis- 
eases, strangles runs a specific course. The great object 
in treatment is to assist nature to develop the eruption 
fully and quickly. If the eruption is checked in the 
external part, in which it usually first appears, it is very 
apt to fly to another, and perhaps to some internal gland- 
ular structure. 

Hence, instead of treating this disease with depletives, 
as some of its symptoms, and especially the fever, might 
seem to indicate, we must endeavor to keep up the strength 
of the patient. 

Herein, however, lies the chief difficulty. The horse 
is sick and not inclined 
to feed. His throat is 
sore, and at best he can 
take nothing but soft 
food. Hence, good nurs- 
ing becomes the main 
point in the treatment. 

The patient's appe- 
tite must be carefully Dressed for strangles, 
watched, and tempted with anything that he will eat. In 
bad cases, grass is not only the best, but is often the only 
food that the animal can be tempted to swallow, or to 
attempt to swallow. Carrots, cut lengthways, are the best 
substitute, when grass can not be obtained. Bran-mash is 
sometimes palatable for a day or two, but, in general, it soon 
becomes distasteful. Linseed gruel may also be offered. 
If the patient is able to eat it, he should be supplied with 
ground feed, softened by boiling water being poured over 
it, with the addition of bran and linseed. Whilst it is 
desirable to give the animal whatever he will take, it is also 
necessary that the food should be offered him in a 
softened condition. Hay, put into a bucket and boiling 




144 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK 

water poured on it, is also palatable. The steam arising 
from it will also be found to be beneficial by soothing the 
inflamed surfaces. 

Warm clothing must be applied to the body and 
bandages to the legs. At intervals, if the legs get cold, 
the bandages should be removed and the parts rubbed 
with the hands until warmth is restored. The patient 
should be placed in a cool, well-ventilated box, with 
abundance of air both day and night. Cool, fresh air in 
this, in common with all diseases in which the respiratory 
passages are affected, is of the utmost importance. 

If the bowels are constipated, they must be relieved by 
the use of laxative food, or, if need be, by injections; but 
no strong purgative medicine must be given, both for fear of 
checking the eruption and also on account of its tendency 
to reduce the strength and perhaps bring on super-purgation. 
If any medicine is needed, half a pint of linseed-oil may be 
given, and repeated after twenty-four hours, if necessary. 

The fever which accompanies the eruptive attack will 
disappear as soon as the disease has run its course. Should 
it, however, be excessive, it may be advisable to allay it 
with ordinary febrifuges, but no lowering treatment is 
admissible. (See Febrifuges). 

{^.) Treatment of the Local Swelling. — In the treat- 
ment of the local swelling, the object must be to induce the 
process of suppuration or formation of matter. Keep the 
part warm with layers of flannel. Fomentations do not 
answer well, because a chill, which may check the forma- 
tion of matter, is apt to supervene when the fomentation is 
discontinued, as it must be at times. 

If the suppurative process needs further assistance to 
bring it to maturity, a poultice of boiled carrots or turnips 
applied to the part, and retained in its position by an eight- 
tailed bandage, will be beneficial. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 145 

Blisters have been recommended, but are objectionable, 
in the early stage, at least, because they tend to disperse 
the swelling, instead of developing the abscess. When, 
however, the tumor has begun to soften, a light blister 
will assist in bringing on the desired action, in cases where 
the progress is unduly tardy. 

(c.) Opening the Abscess. — When a tumor is pointing 
externally, it should be opened, as soon as it is nearly ready 
to burst, at its most depending point, so as to afford the 
best and freest exit for the matter. It is better to open 
the abscess than to leave it to burst, because the opening 
may be made at the most favorable point, and because 
incised wounds heal more rapidly than irregular openings, 
and are also less liable to leave a blemish. 

The incision must be kept open, and the abscess oc- 
casionally injected for a few days with warm water by 
means of a syringe, in order to clean away any matter 
which may be adhering to the sides. Or a small piece of 
tow may be put into the opening and removed occasionally 
to prevent the wound closing too soon. 

But when the abscess is deep-seated, great caution is 
necessary in the operation, for fear of injuring with the 
lancet any of the blood-vessels in its neighborhood. Any 
considerable flow of blood may prove fatal to an animal 
already in a weak and debilitated state; and again, if the 
lancet should cut through the duct of the salivary gland, 
we may have a very troublesome fistulous sore, discharging 
saliva. The operation should not be attempted unless the 
pressure of the tumor produces great distress in breathing, 
or unless it is so situated that it is probable that the pus 
which will escape on its bursting internally will cause 
suffocation. If we can gain time for a day or two, the 
abscess will probably point, and may then be opened with 
safety. 

ID 



14(1 1111' 1>KA1K1K FAKMKR lUM-ISK HOOK. 

Uet'orc operating, llic back part of the inoulh should be 
examined by the hand. The tumor may probably be felt, 
and perhajis the pressure of the finger may cause it to 
burst into the fauces. In such case, there will be consider- 
able temporary distress in the breathing anil a profuse dis- 
charge of matter through the nose and the mouth, after 
which there will be immediate relief, and the animal will get 
well. ("Occasionally a tumor so situatcil will burst of itsi'lf, 
probably during a fit of coughing, with similar results. 

Occasionally it happens that the tumor is so placed on 
the side of the throat that by pressing on the windpipe it 
causes extreme difficulty in breathing. In such cases, it 
may be necessary to open it, even though not fully 
matured; and if it can be laid well open with safety, the 
operation will give relief. In extreme cases, relief to the 
breathing can only be obtained by opening the windpipe 
by the operation known as tracheotomy. Though the 
glands about the head are the usual seat of the tumor, yet 
abscesses may, as mentioned above, form in any of the 
glandular structures. 

If the tumor should form in any of the internal glandular 
structures, such as the mesentery, liver, or lungs, it will 
probablv be fatal. During life, we can not be certain of its 
existence in any such situations. We can only surmise it 
by the svmptoms, namely, low fever and emaciation. We 
must, in such cases, trust to nature; but, whilst we trust in 
her, we must do all we can to assist her powers by sustain- 
ing the system by generous diet and good nursing; and we 
must especially avoid any treatment, such as the adminis- 
tration of purgative medicine, which would lower and 
debilitate the system. 

The tumor of strangles may also form in different parts 
of the body apart from the glandular structures, as, for 
instance, on the shoulders, in front of the chest, etc. 



IIIK I'kAlklK KAKMKk HOkSL l;Of)K. 147 

(d.) After-treatment. — The after-treatment consists 
simply in the continuance of good nursing and careful at- 
tention to appetite, diet, and ventilation until the strength 
is restored. The patient in general recovers rapidly; but 
if he is much debilitated, vegetable followed by mineral 
tonics will be beneficial. 

VIII. Influenza. — Herbert, in "The Horse in the 
Stable and the Jicld," says of influenza: 

This may be considered to be an epidemic catarrh, but 
the symptoms are generally more severe and leave greater 
prostration of .strength behind them. They also require 
more careful treatment, which must be specially adapted to 
the attack, for remedies which will arrest the disease in one 
year will totally fail the next time that the epidemic pre- 
vails. The fever of late years has had a tendency to put 
on the typhoid type, and bleeding, which formerly was often 
beneficial, is now completely forbidden. The symptoms 
are at first similar to those already described as pertaining 
to common catarrh, but after a few days the accompanying 
fever is more severe than usual, and does not abate at the 
customary period. 'I'he appetite is altogether lost, and the 
appearance of the patient is characteristic of severe disease 
rather than of a trifling cold. It is, however, chiefly from 
the fact that a number of horses are seized with similar 
sym];toms, either at the .same time or rapidly following 
one another, that the disease is recognized. It usually 
prevails in the spring of the year, or in a wet and unhealthy 
autumn. Sometimes almost every case runs on to pneu- 
monia, at others the bronchial mucous membrane alone is 
attacked; but in all there is extreme debility in proportion 
to the apparent nature of the disease. The ordinary 
appearances exhibited in recent epidemics have been as 
follows: The first thing observed is a general slight shiv- 
ering, accompanied by a staring coat. The pul.se is weak, 
and slightly accelerated, but not to any great extent; the 
mouth feels hot; the eyes and the nostrils are red; the 
belly is tucked up; there is no appetite; cough, to a vary- 
ing extent, begins to show itself, and there is generally a 
heaving of the flanks. 'Ihe legs and feet are not cold as 



148 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

in pneumoiiia, but beyond this tiiey show no positive signs. 
The cellular membrane around the eyes, and of the legs, 
generally swells about the second day, and often the head 
and limbs become quite shapeless from this cause. In the 
early stage, the bowels are often relaxed, but afterward 
they are as frequently confined. Sore throat is a very com- 
mon complication, but it is not by any means an invariable 
attendant on influenza. It is, however, somewhat difficult 
to ascertain its existence, as in any case there is no appetite 
for food. The treatment should be conducted on the prin- 
ciple of husbanding the strength, and, unless urgent 
symptoms of inflammation show themselves, the less that 
is done the better. If the trachea or larynx is involved only 
slightly, counter-irritation, by means of a liquid blister, 
must be tried, without resorting to strong medicines; but if 
serious mischief ensues, the case must, to a certain extent, 
be treated as it would be when coming on without the com- 
plication of influenza, always taking care to avoid bleeding, 
and merely acting on the bowels by gentle aperients, and 
on the skin and kidneys by the mildest diaphoretic and 
diuretic. (See recipes.) The following is the ordinary 
plan of treatment adopted: 

Take of Spirit of Nitric Ether i ounce. 

Laudanum .... 4 drams. 

Nitrate of Potassa 3 drams. 

Water i pint. 

Mix, and give as a drench night and morning. 

By constantly offering to the horse thin gruel (taking care 
that it does not become sour), and no plain water, sufficient 
nourishment may be given, as his thirst will induce him to 
drink. 

During the stage of convalescence, the greatest care 
must be taken. At first, as soon as the cough has some- 
what subsided, a mild stomachic ball will be desirable, such 
as — 

Take of Extract of Gentian 6 drams. 

Powdered Ginger 2 drams. 

Mix. 

Afterward, if the case goes on favorably, and the 
appetite returns, the restoration may be left to nature, 
giving the horse by degrees his usual allowance of grain, 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



149 



and adding to his morning and evening feed one dram 
of sulphate of iron in fine powder. It must not be attempted 
to give this until the appetite is pretty keen, or the horse 
will probably refuse his grain altogether. 



"^^ 




PART XI. 

DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND 
INTESTINES. 



I. Signs of Colic. — Fitzwygram, to whom we now 
return, says: 

The early sign of colic is pain, evidently in the region 
of the intestines, as indicated by the horse looking 
anxiously round to his flanks. As the pain increases, the 
patient will knock about, lie or throw himself down and 
get up again frequently, or roll over, or kick. The nature 
of the disease is further recognized by the fit soon passing 
away — for it is only a spasm. It soon, however, returns. 

During the spasm, the pulse is much quickened, but not 
oppressed. On the contrary, it is contracted, and often 
hardly perceptible, though perhaps there may not be more 
than fifty beats in the minute. During the remission of 
the spasm, the pulse is strong. The mouth continues 
moist, and the mucous membrane of the eye is not affected. 
During the attack, the horse will sometimes pass hard, 
angular dung-pellets. This peculiarity of hardness and 
shape is due to the spasmodic contractions of portions of 
the guts. 

The belly is tense, and sometimes perceptibly swollen, 
and very tender on pressure. In some cases, it is much 
distended by the generation of gases arising from undi- 
gested or improper food. This peculiar condition is 
known as flatulent colic. 

From pain and knocking about, the patient generally 
sweats much, but dries as soon as the spasm has passed 

(150) 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



151 



away. From the violence with which the horse knocks 
about, there is some HabiHty to rupture of the diaphragm, 
especially in the flatulent attack. 

If the disease is not soon relieved, the pulse will be- 
come very frequent and contracted to a thread. After 
about six hours, there is ground for apprehension. In 
protracted cases, the result is doubtful. 

Favorable indications are given by an increase in the 
intervals of time between the attacks, and by each attack 
becoming slighter. Again, if the patient passes wind 




Spasmodic Colic, severe. 

freely, and soft dung, it is a favorable sign. The increase 
or decrease of the attack is also indicated by the increas- 
ing or decreasing tenseness of the belly. 

In pure colic, it is especially to be remarked that the 
extremities continue warm and the skin remains in its 
usual state. The symptoms are only those of great spas- 
modic pain. There is no inflammation present, nor any 
sign of it. 

II. Distinction between Colic and Inflamma- 
tion of the Intestines. — Colic is at once distinguished 
from inflammation of the intestines by the attack being 



152 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

sudden, without any previous inflammatory symptoms, by 
the pain being intermittent, and by the extremities being 
warm. The pain is also far more severe than in enteritis. 
During the intermissions of pain, the pulse in colic is 
strong, whilst in enteritis it continues throughout quick 
and small. 

III. Treatment of Colic. — Friction of the belly 
will give relief, both by increasing the vermicular motion 
of the intestines, which is temporarily arrested by spasm, 
and also by drawing the blood from the interior to the sur- 
face. The legs should be well rubbed and wrapped in 
flannel bandages, and the heat of the body generally 
must be maintained by warm clothing. An embrocation 
of turpentine may also be rubbed on the abdomen. 

Clysters of warm water mixed with a little oil or soap, 
to which, in protracted cases, one or two ounces of spirits of 
turpentine may be added, are very useful in loosening and 
moving the faeces and causing their evacuation. Nor is the 
effect of the clyster confined to the lower guts, into which 
the water is injected. By means of the warm water injected 
into the large, or lower guts, the small intestines may 
perhaps be excited to action, and if so, relief will soon 
follow. 

If relief is not given by the clysters in twenty minutes, 
administer a diffusible stimulant in combination with open- 
ing medicine, unless the animal is already purged. Noth- 
ing answers better than an ounce of nitric ether with four 
drams of aloes, in solution. Another good formula is a 
pint of linseed-oil and an ounce of nitric or sulphuric ether. 
In such combinations, the stimulant rouses the bowels to 
increased action, and thus aids nature in overcoming the 
spasmodic affection; whilst the purgative clears away the 
irritant, which in so many cases is the original cause of 
the attack. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 153 

If in half an hour after the administration of the med- 
icine the patient is not better, the stimulant may be re- 
peated, and a full dose of castor-oil (eight to twelve ounces) 
must be given. 

The rubbing of the belly must be continued through- 
out, and if the animal is in great pain, some walking exer- 
cise, given at intervals of half an hour, will often alleviate 
the spasms and expedite the action of the medicine. At 
the end of an hour and half or two hours, if the spasmodic 
attacks still continue, hot fomentations, by means of a rug 
steeped in hot water and held to the belly by a man on 
each side, must be applied. To obviate the liability to 
chill, when the fomentation is discontinued, the belly 
should be rubbed with ammonia liniment. 

Throughout the attack, every possible means should be 
taken, by the assistance of three or more men, to prevent 
the patient from throwing himself down, as rupture of the 
diaphragm or entanglement of the intestines may result 
from any such violence. But if the animal prefers to lie 
down, and can be persuaded to keep himself or can by 
any moderate restraint be kept in this position, it is as 
good as any other. During the process of recovery, when 
the pains become less severe, we generally find the patient 
inclined to lie down. 

In the absence of diffusible stimulants, such as nitric 
ether, any kind of spirits, such as gin, rum, or whisky, or 
aromatics, such as pepper and ginger, may be substituted. 
These all possess anti-spasmodic properties, and may be 
found in every house. 

Perseverance in these remedies will almost always 
be found sufficient to bring about subsidence of the 
attack, although the case may be prolonged for some hours. 

IV. Inflammation of the Intestines. — This disease 
may begin in the serous or outer membrane of the intestines, 



154 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

in which case it is known as peritonitis; or it may have its 
origin in the muscular and mucous coats, when it takes the 
name of enteritis. 

Inflammation may also exist in and be confined to the 
mucous membrane or internal lining of the intestines, pro- 
ducing the disease known as dysentery. The disease, 
though common in man, is very rare in the horse. It is 
totally distinct in its origin and nature from peritonitis 
and enteritis, and is easily known by the excessive purging 
which accompanies it. 

(a.) Symptoms. — Unlike colic, which comes on sud- 
denly, peritonitis and enteritis are much alike, and usually 
preceded by dullness, want of appetite, and feverishness. 
The inflammatory attack may commence either in the 
bowels or in the stomach, but as a general rule it begins 
in the bowels, and usually in the small intestines. 

The early symptoms are the same as those of colic, but 
with this marked distinction, which at once shows the dis- 
ease, namely, the absence of any intervals of ease. The 
pain, though in general less violent, is continuous through- 
out, and the pulse, from first to last, is accelerated to a 
high degree, to double or perhaps treble its usual number. 

The further symptoms are those usual in inflammatory 
attacks, namely, cold extremities, mouth dry and either 
unnaturally hot or cold, the respiration hurried and op- 
pressed, nostrils unduly dilated, the countenance painfully 
anxious, the body sometimes bathed in sweat and then 
cold, or with occasional tremors, and the tail erect and 
quivering. As in colic, the horse looks anxiously round to 
his flanks. As the disease progresses, the pulse sinks, and 
the legs and ears feel death-like cold. The mouth feels 
chilly. 

(/>.) Treatment. — In the preliminary, or very early stage, 
if the pulse is full and hard — not weak, nor above eighty 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 155 

beats in the minute— it is advisable at once to have re- 
course to bleeduig. Blood may be drawn until an altera- 
tion is effected in the character of the pulse. 

If, notwithstanding the bleeding, the pulse continues 
full and hard, tincture of aconite in doses of from five to 
ten drops may be given, and repeated every hour until re- 
lief is gained. If the pain is great, an ounce of tincture of 
opium may be administered. 

As long as the pulse is hard and full, stimulants will be 
injurious; but at a later period, when prostration super- 
venes, as it usually does, and the pulse becomes small and 
quick, they will be needed. 

If, on the other hand, the pulse, even in the preliminary 
or early stage, is small and wiry (and such is generally 
the case), if the extremities are cold, and if there is great 
prostration, blood-letting will certainly be injurious. These 
symptoms in no way indicate bleeding. In such cases, 
there is probably a passive state of congestion of blood in 
the capillaries and smaller blood-vessels of the intestines, 
and the blood is therefore, in a certain sense, out of circu- 
lation. Bleeding will affect the quantity of blood, already 
too small, in circulation; but it will not in any appreciable 
degree affect the blood, congested and almost stagnant, in 
the intestines. It will, however, deprive the healthy 
organs of the blood required for their nourishment and 
support during the prostration occasioned by the disease. 
Bleeding in such cases is generally followed by rapid sink- 
ing and death. Stimulants are the appropriate treatment 
for these symptoms. 

Having regard to the fact that the disease in the great 
majority of cases arises from indigestion, we strongly 
recommend its further treatment in all cases by a full dose 
of opening medicine. When the cause, which is generally 
a mass of undigested food, is removed, the intestines may 



156 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

perhaps regain their healthy condition. Twelve ounces 
of linseed-oil will answer best. Aloes, even in solution, 
should be avoided in this disease. Except when the pulse 
(even after bleeding) continues hard and full, it is advisable 
to combine with the opening medicine an ounce of nitric 
ether. 

As in colic, it is advisable to assist the action of 
the medicine and the removal of the faeces by the fre- 
quent injection of small quantities of warm water. Again, 
in all cases, both with a view of exciting external or 
counter-irritation, and also for the purpose of alleviating 
the pain, it is most essential to apply hot rugs steeped in 
boiling water to the abdomen. For similar reasons, it will 
be advisable, at intervals, to apply mustard freely over the 
same region. When the fomentation is discontinued, it is 
necessary to rub the belly with ammonia liniment, in order 
to prevent a sense of cold. 

If, notwithstanding the opening medicine, injections, 
and hot rugs, no relief has been obtained, and the prostra- 
tion and pain continue great, it will be necessary to admin- 
ister, every three hours, a ball consisting of half a dram 
of calomel, half a dram of opium, and two ounces of car- 
bonate of ammonia. 

Exercise, though it was recommended in colic as a 
means of relieving the spasmodic pains, is not advisable in 
inflammation of the intestines. 



PART XII. 



DISEASES OF THE KIDNEYS, BLADDER, AND 

LIVER. 



I. Inflammation of the Kidneys, or Nephritis.— 

The horse is feverish, restless, and uneasy, and perspires 
freely. He often lies down cautiously and rises up again, 
as if suffering from colic; but the abdomen, instead of 
being hard and distended, as in that disease, is tucked up. 
He moves with caution, and experiences temporary relief 
from lying down, but is not relieved by hand-rubbing. He is 
unwilling to move; he stands with his legs wide apart, 
crouches and straddles in his gait, and groans if turned 
sharply round. Tenderness and wincing are evinced on 
the application of pressure to the loins. At frequent inter- 
vals, he stretches himself cautiously, as if about to stale, 
but passes no urine, or only a small quantity, highly col- 
ored and often tinged with blood. In very acute attacks, 
the horse will sit on his haunches, groan, and look round to 
his flanks. The bowels are usually constipated, and the 
pulse is accelerated, and soon becomes very quick and weak. 

Inflammation of the kidneys is distinguished from a 
similar affection of the bladder by the secretion being very 
small and emitted with much groaning and effort, whilst 
in the latter disease the urine is secreted freely, and ejected 
almost as soon as secreted. In both diseases, the bladder 
is empty. 

(a.) Treatment. — The depressing and destructive influ- 
ence of the arrested urinary secretions must be diminished 

(157) 



158 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

as much as possible by exciting the activity of the skin and 
bowels. Flannel cloths steeped in very warm water should 
be at once applied to the loins. A pint of linseed-oil with 
a scruple of calomel may be given. After forty-eight hours, 
the dose of oil may be repeated, if needed in order to pro- 
duce moderate purgation; but it is not probable that it will 
be required. When the purgation has ceased, the cal- 
omel may be advantageously repeated in half-dram doses, 
with one dram of opium, in a ball, night and morning for 
three or four successive days. 

If the pain and straining are great, belladonna in doses 
of one dram, or combined with opium, or opium alone, 
may be given twice a day for a period not exceeding two 
days. 

The skin should be stimulated by warm clothing and 
hand-rubbing. Woolen cloths wrung out of very hot water, 
and covered with a dry rug to delay evaporation, may be 
applied to the loins. Care must be taken to avoid the 
occurrence of a chill when the cloths are removed. With 
this view, the parts may be rubbed with an embrocation 
made of six ounces of oil, one ounce of the strongest water 
of ammonia, and two ounces of tincture of opium. 

Mucilaginous drinks, such as linseed-tea, hay-tea, etc., 
should be given; but if the animal will not take them, he 
should be supplied with slightly tepid water, mildly acidu- 
lated by some mineral acid. Food, which must be sparingly 
given, should consist of grass or carrots. Clysters of warm 
water are useful, both in relievmg the bowels and in acting 
as fomentations to the inflamed organ. 

As soon as the congestion is relieved by these measures, 
the kidneys will again begin to resume their secreting 
functions. The urine, however, at first secreted is always 
very acrid, and therefore causes great irritation in the 
organ. In order to diminish this effect, every endeavor 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 159 

must be made throughout the attack to get the horse to 
take mucilaginous drinks, or even water. Half an ounce of 
bicarbonate of soda given two or three times a day in the 
drink will act very beneficially at this period in lessening 
the acidity of the urine. If there is much pain, a dram 
of powdered opium with half a dram of camphor may be 
given in a ball. 

II. Irritation of the Bladder. — Irritation of the 
bladder is indicated by restlessness, frequent straining, pro- 
truded penis, and by the passing at short intervals of small 
quantities of urine. If the symptoms are more grave than 
the above, it is probable that the disease has passed from 
the stage of irritation into that of inflammation of the 
organ. The bladder, on examination through the anus, 
will be found either shriveled up and empty or hot and 
tender. 

[a.) Treatment. — To relieve the symptoms, many of 
which depend on the acidity and scantiness of the urine, 
the patient should be encouraged to drink plenty of water 
and mucilaginous fluids. The food should consist of 
mashes and hay, with but very little grain. Grass and car- 
rots and lucern are very beneficial; but clover and other 
plants of the trifolium variety are, for reasons already 
given, objectionable. 

Rest is indispensable. Some laxative medicine, such as 
a pint of linseed-oil, is useful in unloading the bowels. 
Warm rugs should be placed over the loins, and clysters 
may be freely thrown up. The warm water will exercise a 
soothing influence on the irritated membrane. The effect, 
if need be, may be increased by adding to each clyster an 
ounce of laudanum or a dram of extract of belladonna. 
If the animal is debilitated, and especially if the irritation 
appears to proceed from weakness of the bladder, vegetable 
tonics may be given with benefit. 



16U THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

III. Inflammation of the Bladder, or Cystitis. — 

Inflammation of the bladder is indicated by the same symp- 
toms as irritation of that organ, but they appear in an aggra- 
vated degree. There is restlessness, with arching of the back, 
whisking of the tail, frequent straining, and a protruded 
penis. At short intervals, a few drops of urine, which is 
generally thick, high-colored, and mixed with ropy mucus 
and pus, will be passed with difficulty. In some instances, 
blood may even be voided. In protracted cases, the skin 
of the neighboring parts becomes scalded by the continued 
dribbling of the urine. Occasionally the animal lies down, 
as if suffering from colic. If the hand be introduced into 
the rectum, the bladder will be found shriveled up and 
empty, and oftentimes hot and tender; and upon the applica- 
tion of pressure to it, the patient will wince and strain 
violently. During the voiding of the urine, some few dung- 
pellets may be passed. The skin is hot and dry, and the 
animal often looks at his flanks. 

If the disease is not relieved, the walls of the bladder 
will lose their contractile power; and in such cases the 
bladder may be found full, but this would only occur in 
the last stage. The bladder may be ruptured through over- 
distension. 

The condition of the bladder should be ascertained at 
an early stage of the disease. If much distended, gentle 
manipulation and pressure per rectum will evacuate it, if 
there be no obstruction from calculus, or unless the neck 
of the cyst is inflamed or spasmodically contracted. If the 
disease be due to the presence of calculi, nothing but an 
operation, promptly performed, can give relief. 

IV. Inflammation of the Neck of the Bladder.— 

Inflammation of the neck is more common than inflammation 
of the body of the bladder. Its prominent symptom is re- 
tention of the urine on account of the inflamed condition of 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. IGl 

the orifice through which it ought to pass. Though the 
neck is principally concerned, yet the inflammation affects 
more or less the remainder of the organ. 

The treatment of the inflammatory attack is much 
the same as has been detailed above in reference to 
nephritis; but in addition to such treatment, it will probably 
be necessary to relieve the retention of the urine by 
other means. Those means, and also the chief signs of 
retention of the urine, will be detailed in the succeeding 
paragraphs. 

V. Retention of the Urine. — In the majority of colic 
cases, the patient suffers temporarily from retention of the 
urine, owing to spasm of the neck of the bladder; but, 
otherwise, the disease is not common in the horse. 

It may, however, arise from inflammation of the neck 
of the bladder, or from calculi in some of the urinary 
passages, or from want of tone, or from the bladder be- 
coming over-distended with urine, as may sometimes 
happen when horses are driven a long distance without 
stopping, or in the case of animals who will not stale out 
of their own stables. Retention may also take place in 
peritonitis, on account of the pain it gives the animal to 
use the abdominal muscles in expelling the urine, and also 
in tetanus. In some cases, especially in prolonged dis- 
eases, retention is caused by an accumulation of debris and 
dirt about the orifice of the urethra. 

(a.) Symptoms. — The symptoms of retention of the 
urine are great uneasiness, distress and anxiety of counte- 
nance, colicky pains, and straining. The pulse is not at 
first much affected; but if relief is not soon obtained, it be- 
comes quick and hard, and ultimately imperceptible. The 
patient will frequently stand stretched out as in the act of 
straining to void urine. He will lie down and rise fre- 
quently. Clammy sweats will break out over him. In the 
11 



162 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

last Stage, the pulse will entirely sink, and the animal may 
have a little ease before dissolution takes place. 

In the early stage, any doubt as to the nature of the 
affection may be removed by putting the hand up the 
rectum and feeling the bladder. 

(d.) Treatment. — The making up of the bedding and 
shaking about fresh straw often creates a desire and at- 
tempt to pass urine, and the effort may be successful. The 
steady pressure of the hand passed through the anus on 
the fundus of the bladder will often cause the urine to be 
discharged. Clysters will often assist in producing this 
effect. Hand-rubbing of the belly is also beneficial. In 
those cases which arise from an accumulation of dirt and 
debris about the orifice of the urethra, a thorough washing 
will often be found sufficient. 

If these means are not successful in producing evacua- 
tion of the contents of the bladder, a catheter must be 
used, or the animal may die from irritation, or the bladder 
may burst. In a mare, the catheter is easily passed, but in 
the horse the operation requires care and dexterity. The 
penis will usually be found retracted. The hand, being 
well oiled, must first be passed up the sheath, and the penis 
must be grasped and gradually brought forward, and held 
by an assistant. A flexible catheter, well oiled, should then 
be introduced and gradually pushed forward, and when its 
point reaches the perineum, it should be worked with con- 
tinued gentle pressure, so as to guide it upward. 

If an obstruction such as a calculus exists, it must, if 
possible, be remove-d by gentle manipulation. An endeavor 
may be made to direct it into the urethra and to guide it 
forward. If very small, it may perhaps be expelled by the 
force of the urine, or it may be gradually manipulated 
forward, and then possibly extracted by a small forceps 
from the point of the penis. If, however, it is of any size, 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 163 

it will not pass the curvature of the urethra, and then can 
only be removed by an operation. Hydrochloric acid, 
given twice a day in doses of two drams in a pint of water, 
will, in some cases, where the calculus is small or in small 
fragments, or where no urgent symptoms are present, be 
successful in dissolving the concretion. 

(c.) After-treatment. — In all the above cases, the after- 
treatment consists in careful avoidance of the causes 
which may have induced the attack, in good nursing, spare 
diet, and the administration of tonics. Especial care must 
be taken that the animal be not subjected, for some time, 
at least, to exposure or overhard work. 

VI. Bloody Urine. — Bloody urine may arise from 
inflammation of the mucous lining of the kidneys, ureters, 
bladder, or urethral canal, or from sympathy with inflam- 
mation arising from sprain of the muscles in the neighbor- 
hood of the kidneys. It may also be due to an escape of 
the coloring-matter of the blood, without any inflammation 
being present. 

The treatment in such cases is rest and laxative diet, 
especially grass. Linseed-tea should also be given. 

More rarely, this disease arises from weakness of the 
urinary organs, and must then be treated by the adminis- 
tration of tonics. Half a dram each of nitric and muriatic 
acid, with two ounces of gentian, or half a pint of the in- 
fusion daily, will answer exceedingly well. Some veter- 
inarians prefer to give diluted sulphuric acid, in doses 
of half a dram, three times a day. 

Bloody urine is a somewhat uncommon disease in the 
horse. Covering stallions, however, sometimes suffer from 
it, probably on account of the amount of stimulants often 
given them by their care-takers. In hot countries, bloody 
urine is very common among horses in high condition. A 
simple laxative will, in such cases, invariably effect a cure. 



104 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

VII. Diuresis, or Excessive Staling. — For the 

sake of convenience, we have grouped this affection along 
with diseases of the kidneys and bladder, but in diuresis 
the urinary apparatus is not in reality diseased; there is 
only excessive function of the organs, due to derangement 
of the digestive functions or to an abnormal condition of 
the blood. 

Diuresis, or excessive staling of very clear urine, pro- 
duces great prostration of strength, and may, if neglected, 
end fatally. More often, however, if not relieved, it brings 
on such a deteriorated state of the system that glanders 
supervenes and carries off the patient. 

(a.) Symptoms. — The principal symptom, other than 
excessive staling, is extreme thirst. The horse drinks 
readily and greedily, and if he be not indulged, will refuse 
his food. The skin is dry, and the coat is rough and star- 
ing. The digestion is generally out of order, and the 
bowels are torpid. The appetite is capricious, depraved, 
and impaired. From the prostration induced, the horse 
sweats easily and is incapable of much exertion, and falls 
away rapidly in condition. 

{b^ Causes. — The causes of this disease are various. 
Most frequently they are connected with the use of bad 
forage. Mow-burnt or moldy hay and kiln-dried oats 
are especially apt to produce it, by reason of their diuretic 
effect on the kidneys. The water in particular localities 
sometimes also affects these organs. 

Diuresis must not be confounded with the simple 
augmentation in the amount of urine, which may arise from 
a multitude of causes, some of them alimentary and others 
of a nervous character. Such augmentation, when only 
temporary, must not be viewed in the light of disease. 
Change in the food, for instance, often affects the secretion. 
Thus, if a horse be given tares, the urine will not only be 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 1(J5 

increased, but it will become whitish and show a great deal 
of sediment. 

(c.) Treatment. — The treatment must necessarily vary, 
according to the cause from which the disease proceeds in 
each particular instance. 

If the forage is in fault, it will probably be sufficient to 
change it. In all cases, however, a change of food is bene- 
ficial. Grass, whenever it can be procured, should be 
given. 

If, in addition to the causes described above, the organs 
of digestion, as is frequently the case, are also out of order, 
laxative diet, with linseed-tea in lieu of water, and a slight 
dose of linseed-oil, will be useful. If the animal will not 
take linseed-tea freely, he must be allowed water. If the 
water which he has been drinking is hard, it should be 
exposed to the sun and air for a considerable period, or 
boiled. 

Iodide of potassium and iodine have a very marked 
and beneficial effect in this disease. Of the former, one 
dram, or of the latter half a dram, may be given daily. 
Iodide of iron, in doses of one dram daily, also answers 
well. Lastly, if the horse has been dosed with condition- 
balls, they must be discontinued. 

As great prostration accompanies this disease, a liberal 
diet should be allowed. In addition to good sweet oats, 
in summer sweet grass, and in winter carrots, sliced length- 
wise, should be allowed; also bran-mashes occasionally. If 
the disease continues for a length of time, the patient will 
lose condition, and in such cases vegetable and mineral 
tonics will be needed. 



PART XIII. 
RELATING TO THE LIVER. 



I. Situation and Functions of the Liver. — The 

liver is the largest gland in the body. The greater part 
of it is situated within the short ribs on the right side. A 
small portion lies on the left side, and also in the epigas- 
trium. The outer covering of the liver is derived from 
the peritoneum, within which is a cellulo-vascular lining 
called the capsule of Glisson. 

The chief function of the liver is the secretion of bile, 
a yellow, alkaline, soapy fluid. From the liver the bile 
passes directly into the intestines. The horse is not fur- 
nished, as are many other .animals, with a gall-bladder. 

Unlike most secretions, bile is elaborated chiefly from 
the venous blood; mixing with the partially digested food, 
it hastens its solution, and adapts it for absorption into 
the system. By some it is thought also to stimulate the 
intestinal linings to increased secretion of their special 
solvent fluids. The bile poured into the intestines is nearly 
all taken up again by the absorbents before the faeces 
(excrement) arrive at the anus. 

The secretion of the liver is increased by rich, abun- 
dant food; by indolence; by heated stables; also by mercury, 
any preparation of ammonia, mineral acids, and by purga- 
tives generally. Conversely, it is diminished by light diet, 
strong exercise in the open air, cool stables, compounds of 
iodine administered internally, and by carbonate of soda 
given while the process of digestion is going on. 

(166) 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER H )RSE BOOK. 167 

II. Diseases of the Liver. — The liver, though sub- 
ject to frequent derangement in man, and also in some of 
the lower animals, is comparatively seldom diseased, func- 
tionally or organically, in the horse. 

Its diseases may be divided into two classes, namely, 
temporary functional derangements, such as inactivity, 
congestion, and inflammation, and, secondly, organic struct- 
ural changes, such as enlargement, atrophy, softening, and 
induration. The first named ordinarily result from pre- 
ventible causes, such as excess of food, want of proper 
exercise, or exposure to vicissitudes of temperature or 
weather. The latter are seldom primary affections, but, as 
a general rule, result from other diseases, such as influenza, 
inflammation of the lungs and pleura, etc. 

(a.) Causes of Temporary Functional Derangements. — 
Inactivity, often followed by congestion, is frequently 
caused by excess of food, especially if it be of a stimulat- 
ing character, combined with insufficient exercise. The 
liver becomes loaded with bile, and this condition is after- 
ward succeeded by a diminution of the quantity of this 
secretion formed in the hepatic cells. This is in conformity 
with the usual rule of nature, that when any organ is put 
to excessive use for a time reaction follows. The horse 
then becomes hide-bound and debilitated. In many cases, 
the appetite falls off, but in others the patient may feed 
even ravenously. He will not, however, thrive until the 
organ is again stimulated to proper action. Congestion 
may also be brought on by a sudden chill or exposure. 

A state of passive congestion may exist for a length of 
time without any very noticeable symptoms. On the other 
hand, inflammation may supervene on the congestion, 
whether arising from previous inactivity, or from chill, or 
exposure. In very acute cases, the period of congestion 
may be so short as to escape notice. 



168 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

{/>.) Symptotns of Slight Derangements. — Slight derange- 
ment of the liver is often indicated by irregularity of the 
appetite. The animal feeds well one day and will not 
feed the next. The skin is rough, dry, harsh, and itchy, 
and the mucous membranes are yellowish in color, owing to 
retention in the blood of the material which should have 
been formed into bile, or from re-absorption of the bile, 
due to some obstruction in its proper channel. 

(<:.) Treatment. — A little saline medicine, or some slight 
purgative, followed by more careful feeding and proper 
exercise, or half a dram of calomel with a little ginger 
every day for three or four days, will generally effect a 
cure. The derangement is often spontaneously relieved by 
a slight attack of diarrhea. 

III. Congestion of the Liver. — If the slight symp- 
toms indicated above are neglected, and the derangement 
is allowed to continue for a length of time, or in other 
cases without any such premonitory symptoms, congestion 
(often followed by inflammation) may take place in the 
organ. 

The attack, however, generally comes on gradually. 
The animal is dull and indisposed to move; the appetite 
fails, and the bowels become disordered; the eye and 
mucous membranes assume a more decidedly yellowish 
tint, and the faeces are hard, scanty, light-colored, and 
fetid. Great uneasiness is evinced on the application of 
pressure to the right hypochondriac region. The breathing 
in general, is not much affected, but there are frequent fits 
of blowing, and there is also a hollow cough. The pulse 
is full, soft, and compressible. The tenderness arising 
from a diseased state of the liver often causes the animal to 
favor his right fore-leg in action. 

{a?) Treat7ne}it. — In congestion of the liver, the bow- 
els must be acted on from time to time, according to the 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSK BOOK. 1G9 

Strength of the patient, by purgatives; and such agents 
should be used as will, in addition, specially affect the liver, 
and cause an increased flow of bile. With this view, 
saline purgatives, such as four ounces of Epsom salts, may 
be administered once or twice a day; or calomel may be 
given in doses of thirty grains, with two drams of extract 
of gentian, daily, until the congestion is relieved. Mus- 
tard rubbed occasionally over the region of the liver has 
often a marked effect in relieving the congestion. The 
diet should be sparing in quantity, easy of digestion, and 
somewhat laxative. 

In the later stages, when the strength begins to fail, 
tonics may be given. None answer better than half a 
dram each of nitric and hydrochloric acid in half a pint 
of water, with two ounces of gentian, or half a pint of the 
infusion. 

IV. Inflammation of the Liver, or Acute Hep- 
atitis. — If the congestion runs into inflammation, the 
pulse will become hard, quick, and small. The pain is not 
great, because the parts are soft and capable of swelling. 

If the attack is not checked, the faeces usually become 
clay-like in color and consistency. The dryness, itchiness, 
and yellow tint of the skin increase, and the unhealthy, 
rough, and staring appearance of the coat is more marked. 
The glands about the throat and other parts of the body 
sometimes become enlarged. The animal rapidly loses 
condition. Occasionally severe diarrhea supervenes and 
complicates the symptoms. Ascites, or dropsy of the 
belly, is a common sequel of the attack. 

The liver is also occasionally, though but rarely, subject 
to sudden acute attacks of inflammation. This disease 
is known as acute hepatitis. 

The horse becomes dull and moping, and probably 
coughs occasionally. He hangs his head, his eye droops, 



170 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

and he loathes his food. He seems to suffer from inward 
pain, but not of a severe kind. He has not laui down dur- 
ing the previous night, the dung-balls are small and dark- 
colored, urine is scanty, the mouth is hot, and the animal 
is feverish. The fever runs on, and the inner side of the 
lips, cheeks, tongue, and the mucous membranes of the 
nose and eyes are tinged with a yellow color. If blood be 
abstracted, the serum will be of a golden hue. The dung- 
balls are tinged, or perhaps deeply stained, with bile, and 
often encased in viscid mucous matter. The urine is of a 
yellow color, with a copious sediment. The patient lies 
down occasionally, looks at his side, and rises again. If the 
right side be pressed upon, he will flinch, or perhaps bite, 
and show signs of tenderness. 

The pulse becomes quick, strong, and bounding, the 
breathing is disturbed and short. The patient appears 
dull and stupid, and often sinks into a lethargic state, or he 
may stagger in his walk. 

In either of these attacks, if the symptoms are not soon 
relieved, the case may end in rupture of the liver. 

(a.) Treatment — Both in inflammation of the liver 
and in the cognate affection, acute hepatitis, no time must 
be lost in attacking the disease. Recourse may possibly 
be had to blood-letting, lest the liver should rupture. The 
effect of the bleeding may require to be supplemented by 
the administration of medicinal sedatives. Blisters should 
be applied over the right hypochondriac region, on either 
side of the abdomen, beneath cartilages of false ribs. The 
diet should consist of grass, carrots, bran-mashes, etc. 

As soon as the more acute symptoms are abated, iodide 
of potassium may be given in one dram doses daily, 
combined with gentian and ginger. The effect of this 
medicine is to diminish the action of the liver. During the 
acute attack, calomel should nofhe administered, because it 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 171 

is an excitant to the glandular structures. In the after or 
chronic stage, it is highly useful, and tends again to excite 
the organ to proper secretion. 

V, Organic Diseases of the Liver. — Organic 
disease of the liver rarely occurs as a primary affection. 
It is usually a sequel of other diseases, especially of any 
disease which prevents the free circulation of the blood 
through it. 

A state of hypergemial congestion, or undue accumula- 
tion of blood in the capillary vessels, is the usual com- 
mencement of almost all structural disease. This conges- 
tion may arise from any affection which interferes with the 
passage of the blood into the pulmonary artery, such, for 
instance, as inflammation of the lungs and pleura, influenza, 
peritonitis, any violent visceral inflammation, valvular 
disease of the heart, or disease of the pericardium. En- 
largement of the liver to a great size, and softening of its 
structure, often follows low typhoid affections. It is also 
common in old cold-blooded horses. 

On the other hand, atrophy sometimes occurs, and the 
organ dwindles down to half its proper size. 

In some cases, the liver takes on a scirrhous or indu- 
rated state, and ceases in a great measure to perform its 
functions. 

Ordinary congestion of the liver, especially when it has 
become chronic, sometimes leads to enlargement and 
softening of the organ, known as hypertrophy of the liver. 
It is most often seen in very fat horses, such, for instance, 
as brewers' and millers', or in pampered animals, such as 
gentlemen's carriage-horses, which have not suf?.cient 
exercise. The liver slowly and gradually augments in 
size, sometimes with no sign of ill-health about the ani- 
mal, until it suddenly bursts its capsule, and death soon 
follows. 



172 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

The liver may also become the seat of tubercular and 
cancerous deposits. The bile-ducts may likewise be 
obstructed by calculi, when the same symptoms are evinced 
as in congestion and inflammation. 

The existence of any such organic change, though its 
exact nature may not be discoverable during life, is indi- 
cated — but often only very obscurely — by the same 
symptoms as those previously described under the head of 
temporary functional derangements. 

Accidents, such as a heavy fall on one side, may occasion 
rupture of the organ, when death will rapidly ensue. 

(a.) Treatment. — In the early stage of organic disease 
of the liver, there is often great difficulty in diagnosing it. 
There is frequently only a passive state of congestion. If 
diagnosed, the treatment will be the same as that recom- 
mended for congestion. In extreme cases of hypertrophy, 
an external enlargement is not infrequently observed. 
Percussion may aid in forming a correct opinion. In many 
cases, however, the disease creeps on insensibly and with- 
out any well-marked symptoms to a very serious extent. 

When any change of structure has taken place, com- 
plete restoration is not to be expected; but the further 
progress of the disease may often be checked for a length 
of time by keeping the bowels moderately open by means 
of saline laxatives, careful feeding, and exercise. The 
iodide of potassium and carbonate of soda are useful in 
reducing the excessive action of the organ. Tonics are 
also beneficial in assisting it to regain its tone. 



PART XIV. 

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF CONDITIONS 
AND DISABILITIES. 



Some Experiences of a Skilled Veterinarian.— 

The Prairie Farmer has had for many years the editorial 
services of N. H. Paaren, M. D., and one of the most skilled 
and learned men in the profession of veterinary science in 
the United States. His writings are always correct, terse, 
and to the point. So valuable have been his services, that 
for years the United States Bureau of Animal Industry has 
had him in constant commission, not, however, to prevent 
his regular work on the journal in question. The editor of 
The Prairie Farmer, in examining his work, has felt that 
in no sense could he make this book more valuable than by 
incorporating within its pages some of his valuable contri- 
butions, from actual experience, in the care and disabilities 
of the horse, and also, from his practice, the treatment and 
cure of some sanable diseases that have, from time to time, 
come under his charge, through the descriptions from time 
to time sent by those who had suffering animals. Of 
course we shall confine the selections solely to those of the 
equine race. The editor is confident that these will prove 
one of the salient and most valuable portions of this volume. 

I. Effects of Insufficient Shelter.— The following 
question was by Mr. D. L., Leavenworth, Kan.: 

Please inform me if what is called insufficient shelter really has any 
very bad effect on horses. I mean work-horses and younger ones of 

that kind. 

(173) 



174: THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

Ansiver. — Our heavy work-horse must be regarded as 
the product of artificial treatment. His capacious trunk 
and heavy body have been produced by an abundance of 
natural and artificial herbage. His digestive organs are 
large, and their functions powerful, possessing the property 
of quickly assimilating nourishment. This race generally 
has an excess of cellular tissue, and a soft temperament, 
with a tendency to fatten, and is incapable of enduring 
fatigue and privation like the smaller and more active 
breeds. Horses of a more active description more or less 
possess the characteristic temperament of the heavier races, 
and to be reared in perfection they must be supplied with 
an abundance of food, besides proper shelter and warmth, 
on which the body depends for its early development as 
food itself. The want of fulfilling these conditions is cer- 
tain to incur loss from disease in almost every stage of 
their existence. 

To commence with rearing — cases of mismanagement 
are frequent everywhere. It is not uncommon to see young 
colts indiscriminately mixed with brood-mares, horned 
cattle, and sometimes swine, in the barn-yards. Many of 
these places have little or no protection from the weather, 
and a want of anything like drainage is more common 
than otherwise. In fact, they are places far better adapted 
to the manufacturing of manure than the winter lodging of 
colts. The food, too, that is sometimes supplied to them 
in these places is of a very inferior character, being often 
the refuse of hay, etc., of the working-hofses or the cattle. 
We have witnessed this picture many a time, and it is a 
wonder that more diseases and accidents do not occur than 
really do. 

The functions most active in colts are those which ad- 
minister to growth, such as the organs of digestion and 
assimilation; and hence derangement of the digestive or- 
gans is common to colts reared in this manner, as seen in 
the numerous cases of leanness, hide-bound, general or 
local dropsy, diarrhea, worms, lice, etc.; and in this spirit- 
less state catarrh and other disorders of the respiratory 
organs are commonly produced, from the influence of cold 
and wet and insufficient nutriment. When you see colts 
that have undergone two or three winters of this short- 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 175 

sighted system of management, having their skins rigid — 
sticking, as it were, to their ribs— the hair dull and dead- 
like, and the summer's keep failing to recover them, you 
may form a shrewd guess at what kind of horses they will 
make. Farmers who mismanage their young horses in the 
manner described, do so from a mistaken motive of econ- 
omy. They imagine that the summer's keep will compen- 
sate for the partial starvation of winter.- But the growing 
animal requires food, not only to sustain itself, but to 
maintain its growth. 

The organic materials of a living body are constantly 
changing, portions of it becoming effete and taken away, 
whilst new parts are endowed with the property of life and 
are built up in their places. The living principle is perma- 
nent, whilst the material changes and the reparative 
process can not be maintained in its integrity unless the 
body be supplied with food adequate to its peculiar wants. 
This should contain a large supply of the phosphates, from 
which bone is formed, and of gluten or fibrine, by which 
the muscles are enlarged. These materials are obtained 
from oats and bran, natural and artificial grasses, and roots 
of various kinds. In the absence of materials of this kind, 
the bones do not increase in size, and the muscles are not 
sufficiently developed, and hence the common origin of so 
many ill-shaped, long-legged, light-carcassed horses, that 
are almost always sold at inferior prices, and frequently to 
persons who do not scruple to use them up quickly in work 
beyond their age and strength. 

The immediate operation of wet and cold, arising from 
insufficient shelter, is no less injurious to older horses. 
The sudden transitions experienced between the existing 
state of labor by day, and when kept on grass during nights, 
often subjected to cold and wet, weaken the circulation of 
the surfaces of the body, and the blood, accumulating 
more in the internal parts, produces congestion, and hence 
inflammation of the mucous membranes of the air-passages, 
causing catarrhal complaints, such as coughs, sore throat, 
bronchitis, besides their common consequences, as chronic 
cough, thick-wind, and sometimes broken-wind. 

The indirect operation of cold and moisture deserves a 
passing notice. Suppose a horse team, after a long jour- 



170 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

ney or tiresome work, instead of being taken direct to the 
stable or under shelter, is left standing for some considera- 
ble time exposed to severe cold or wet. This is no very 
uncommon case. Internal congestions may occur from the 
chill suddenly arresting the perspiration and throwing the 
blood inwardly, oppressing some of the internal organs. 
But the chances are the horses will escape this danger, from 
the healthy reaction which follows the effect of cold, pro- 
vided their vital energies have not been much exhausted 
by excessive labor and want of food. And yet, on their 
arrival home, to what may seem to be most comfortable 
quarters, they meet there with a greater enemy than either 
cold, or wet, or hunger — the heated stable; and the re- 
action which follows the exposure of the body in these 
instances frequently produces inflammation and the com- 
mon result. 

Farm stables are not only frequentl)- heated to excess 
in consequence of the number of their inmates, but they 
are foul and vitiated from gases or vapors of a positively 
noxious quality, engendered from the decomposition of the 
litter, dung, and urine, together with animal exhalations. 
The deleterious operation of effluvia arising under these 
circumstances may be short of a directly poisonous effect, 
yet it gradually undermines the health, and can only be 
counteracted by a more efficient means of ventilation and 
general cleanliness. The distinction should be drawn be- 
tween a hot stable and a foul one, as the former is capa- 
ble of producing one series of effects and a foul one 
another. In the foul stable, we have heat and impurity, 
arising from the same source and operating in combination, 
producing not only inflammatory diseases, but others more 
serious. 

It commonly happens that a variety of agents and cir- 
cumstances may be required to act in combination to pro- 
duce some diseases. Thus, horses that are badly fed and 
overworked by day are very likely to be exposed to heated, 
vitiated stables by night, and these are the common victims 
of such diseases as farcy, glanders, periodic ophthalmia 
(commonly called moon-blindness), etc. Farm stables with 
ceilings should have these not less than ten to twelve feet 
high. They should be well lighted, properly ventilated, 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 177 

and be kept dry both from above and below, with the means 
of perfect cleanhness at all times. The average temperature 
.should never exceed 62°, being 36'^ below blood-heat. The 
advantage of keeping the atmosphere of stables consider- 
ably cooler than the body itself, consists not only in the 
greater amount of oxygen contained in a given bulk of 
air, but also in the greater force with which the foul 
air of respiration is carried away from the breathing 
passages, and a pure air supplied in consequence of the 
difference of temperature maintaining a current. If, for 
any reason, more warmth is required, it should be supplied 
by warm clothing. 

II. Consequences of Overworking Farm- 
Horses. — Subscriber, Galesburg, 111., writes: 

Does hard work of farm-horses injure them in any other way than 
that they can recover their wonted vigor and strength by occasional short 
periods of rest? 

Ansicer. — The above inquiry covers an important sub- 
ject for any farmer's consideration, for he frequently re- 
gards many of the losses he sustains as consequences of 
natural causes over which he has no control, and which no 
knowledge can avert. There can be no doubt that excess 
of labor forms a prolific .source of disease in both young 
and old horses, and the vigorous health of young ones, in 
particular, is often wasted and destroyed from premature 
work, which, if economically managed for a year or two at 
most, might have preserved them in health and activity 
nearly to the full term of the allotted periods of their lives, 
instead of being dissipated in the first six or seven years of 
their existence. 

The influence of work is clearly observed in the gen- 
eral condition of farm-horses, from the breaking-in to the 
termination of life, and much depends upon the amount of 
work given during the first two years whether they shall 
become healthy, useful animals, or unthrifty and weakly — 
a burden to themselves and to their owners. On well-man- 
aged farms, and where humanity and kindly treatment pre- 
vail, the working-horses live a monotonous kind of life. 
They are sufficiently fed and rarely overworked; and, except 
perhaps during the busy tillage season, or catching hay, or 
12 



178 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

harvest-time, their employment is easy — any disease seldom 
produced. It is not uncommon to see horses managed in 
this manner performing their daily labor at twenty years of 
age with apparent ease and comfort. The average work 
of a plow-team is eight to ten hours a day, and the pace 
rarely exceeds a mile and a half or two miles an hour. The 
severity of this labor will depend on the strength of the 
teams, their age and food, as well as the nature of the soil 
and cultivation. 

It is mismanagement to make a pair of three-year-old 
horses perform the same amount of labor in the day as a 
pair of older horses that are stanch and accustomed to 
their work. If a pair of six-year-olds plow a given amount 
of land in a day, two-thirds of that amount is fully suffi- 
cient for a pair of young horses to do. It is also folly to 
expect a pair of horses fed in the open fields through the 
summer to perform their work freely through the autumnal 
wheat-sowing, or a pair that have been wintered out on hay, 
with only an occasional allowance of oats or corn, to bustle 
through the busy spring tillage as they should. There is 
no economy in practices which compel horses to perform a 
greater labor than either their strength can bear or their 
rest recruit; and hence the reason why so many are used 
up long before they reach what may be fairly considered as 
their allotted term of life. This may be estimated at fif- 
teen years; but a very considerable number-die or are 
destroyed before they reach half this period. 

When a horse is overworked, one of two things 
always happens; he will lose flesh and become weak, or 
his legs will fail and he will become lame. Loss of flesh 
implies loss of muscular tone and weakness, which renders 
the body susceptible to various diseases, arising from extra 
exertion, improper food, exposure to cold and wet without 
the stables or foul and heated atmosphere within. And 
here we have the common predisposing causes to catarrh, 
bronchitis, and distemper in young horses, and to chronic 
cough, diarrhea, and general or local dropsy in old ones; 
besides lameness of various kinds, arising from bursal 
enlargements of the joints, thickening of the ligaments, 
and bony enlargements, which either restrict the animals' 
usefulness, or render them irreparably lame and worthless. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 179 

It is impossible to particularize the cases of misman- 
agement that occur in which horses are overworked on a 
farm. Many of the diseases arising therefrom, particu- 
larly cases of lameness, are seldom sudden in their effect, 
but of slow growth; and, notwithstanding this, it is an 
almost every-day occurrence to hear men blame some par- 
ticular event of yesterday which brought to a crisis the 
folly and mismanagement of months or years. Like the 
last feather on the camel's back, it bears the blame which 
belongs to the load that preceded it. 

III. Necessity of Exercise for Horses.— Mr. E. 

L. J., Davenport, Iowa, writes: 

Will not Doctor Paaren give his views upon the question of exercise 
for horses? 

Answer. — Exercise is requisite for the production of a 
good and substantial breed of horses. Without labor, as 
well for breeding-mares as for stallions, we can never grow 
stock for hard work. Too much inaction extinguishes the 
generative power. In this respect, wild horses show us an 
example worthy of imitation. And, besides, the powerful 
stallion has always an advantage over the weak one; for 
mares in a state of nature always give preference to the 
more active and vigorous, the indolent stallion, without 
energy, being refused and frequently ill-treated by them. 
In a herd of wild horses, the weakly can not keep pace in 
their laborious courses with the stronger, but are forced to 
stop for breath; the laggers-behind are dispersed and sep- 
arated, and become the prey of ferocious beasts. 

The domesticated horse has neither to fear the teeth of 
the wolf nor the inclemencies of seasons, and yet he is no 
longer the same animal. His whole nature has undergone 
notable modifications. Nowadays, man directs the inter- 
course of the sexes. Our present breed of domestic horses 
is, in truth, man's own, making allowance for the instinct 
of self-preservation, modified by domesticity. The horse 
no longer breeds but at our command. Since, then, man 
has made himself absolute master over horses, it is his duty 
to find means to make amends for the privileges he has 
deprived them of; and this compensation will be found in 
work. It is in well-regulated exercise alone that the do- 



2 S o -c 

•s •§ -I ^ 




(180) 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE I'.OOK. I8l 

mesticated animal finds any guarantee for a long and sup- 
portable life. 

The foal inherits direct reciprocity of qualities from its 
parents, but the attributes of the mare descend most 
directly, and have the longest duration; those which descend 
(with the most certainty) are a good constitution and en- 
durance of work. Want of exercise, and too long standing 
in the stable, cause the blood to become morbid, and the 
muscles to lose their elasticity and energy. The horse in 
health, using his strength in the open air, and thus exhaust- 
ing his powers, breathes with expanded lungs; every mus- 
cle, every fibre of his body, is on the stretch, ready ever for 
renewed efforts; so that it is not the muscles only that be- 
come augmented by well-regulated exercise, but the organs 
of respiration benefit by it. The lung of the working-horse 
presents a healthy aspect^ it is voluminous, and plays its 
part with freedom; while, on the other hand, in the stallion, 
on whom too much indulgence has been bestowed, and too 
little activity, we find a lung shrunk and doughy, and with- 
out energy. In the growing colt which we deprive of exer- 
cise, we stifle the most promising qualities; and he, having 
them undeveloped in himself, in his turn robs all hisposterity 
of them. Thus it is that we have, step by step, arrived at 
the deterioration of such excellent stock, the original of 
which exists no longer but in our imagination. Further- 
more, we must take care not to breed from mares of dilapi- 
dated constitutions, worn out by work. Nothing is better 
for mares kept for breeding than the work they get out in 
the open fields. The intelligent farmer may, in this way, 
breed from mares up to their twentieth year. Not only can 
she work during gestation, but she does so both to her own 
and her offspring's welfare; and the success of the breeder 
will be the greater as he proportions the feed of the mare 
to her work. This, well ordered, it is that constitutes the 
whole mystery of breeding the domestic horse. 

(^ur aim is to develop the utmost strength and celerity 
of which a horse is capable; and it is by well-regulated 
exercise that these two qualities are developed. Exer- 
cise produces suppleness in a horse, and strength and 
endurance under the severest trials and the most labori- 
ous work. Nothing is so contrary to the horse's nature, 



182 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

destined as he is for exertion, as lengthened and continuous 
rest. 

With a view of setting forth the indispensable necessity 
of exercise for horses, it will be as well to enumerate the 
inconveniences resulting from lack of it. Prolonged repose 
in the stable favors in the animal the plastic process. His 
fibres become distended, the cellular tissues surcharged 
with ial, insomuch that the whole body grows weak in pro- 
portion as it grows bulky, and in a short time becomes a 
spongy mass, lacking altogether energy and vigor. In 
such a condition, the horse proves a burden to himself. 
The muscular system grows weak, not only in proportion to 
the relaxation of its fibre and to the softening of the whole 
body, but, in addition, as the surcharge of useless fat 
incommodes in particular the extensor muscles in their 
movements, which succumb under the weight of fat; and 
thus it is that we see horses overfed and underworked 
become short-steppers, foundered, etc. 

The overfat horse not only becomes soon fatigued, 
but in going wears his legs out faster, and, above all, does 
mischief to his feet. Having an enormous weight to carry, 
the hoof spreads and undergoes various deformities, more 
or less remarkable, according to its nature; such deform- 
ities being always slow, frequently difficult of removal, and 
such as keep the horse for a greater or less time out of 
work. For want of exercise, the wind grows short, accumu- 
lation of fat in the cavity of the chest being opposed to a 
full expansion of the lungs. This likewise detracts from 
the speed of the horse, and from his power of enduring 
fatigue. 

Excessive embonpoint, or plumpness, impedes the 
freedom of respiration, and tends to the formation within 
the body of carbon, and this accumulation, favored by a 
tardy respiration, becomes the occasion of renewed deposit 
of fat; and since, at the same time, the blood becomes 
thick, it is considered as the source in animals in general 
of many maladies. Inaction weakens the digestive func- 
tions. Horses that have too little exercise are more 
subject than others to colics and indigestions. The general 
circulation of liquids penetrating the tissues becoming 
more tardy, the consequence is a disproportion between 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 183 

venous and arterial blood. The more sluggish respiration 
grows, the less arterial biood is made; and while the blood 
engorges the veins, it becomes surcharged with carbon, as 
is evinced by its deeper hue. Again, a slackened circula- 
tion becomes the occasion of dropsical swellings m the 
limbs, windgalls, etc., and these are observed to disappear 
in the ratio in which exercise is enforced. Inaction aug- 
ments the sensibility of the skin. It becomes relaxed, and 
the animal, in consequence, is rendered more susceptible 
to external influences. Long sojourn in the stable notably 
affects the vision. The horse neglected to be exercised 
grows indocile, and especially so should he be young 
Through idleness he contracts many bad habits in the 
stable; he rubs himself, crib-bites, kicks, etc. 

All these inconveniences disappear under suitable and 
sufficient exercise. Exercise it is that determines the 
strength of the muscles, the assimilation and absorption of 
the juices. It has a tendency to enlarge the cavity of the 
chest, by rendering respiration more easy of performance, 
and it checks excess of fat, by favoring transpiration; 
making good the saying of the horseman, that exercise is 
as good as a dose of physic. In a word, exercise and 
labor constitute the best preparation for fecundity, at the 
same tmie that they insure health and longevity. 

Notwithstanding that exercise exerts great and whole- 
some influence upon the horse, such advantage can not be 
insured except by providing that the exercise be judiciously 
apportioned to the strength of the horse; that it be of a 
kmd suitable to his nature, and that every requisite atten- 
tion be paid him after exercise. 

IV. About Soundness.— It may be supposed that 
the hackneyed term " sound " is so explicit as to need no 
comment — and most people conceive it to be so; but the 
term " sound " really admits of as much contrariety of 
opinion as the word "tipsy;" one man considers another so 
if, at ten at night, he is not precisely as cool and collected 
as he was at one in the day. Another one calls a man so 
when he lies on the floor and holds himself on by the car- 
pet. So, as to soundness, some persons can not see that a 



184 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

horse is unsound unless he works his flanks Hke the drone 
of a bagpipe, or blows and roars like a blacksmith's bel- 
lows; while some are so fastidious as to consider a horse as 
next to valueless because he may have a corn that he never 
feels, or a thrush for which he is not, nor likely to be, one 
dollar the worse. 

So far as relates to such hypercritical deciders on sound- 
ness, we venture to say that, if they brought a veterinarian 
many sound horses in succession, he would find some- 
thing in all of those produced that would induce such per- 
sons to reject them, though, perhaps, not one among the 
lot has any defect of material consequence. To say the least, 
we will venture to assert that nine-tenths of the horses now 
in daily use are more or less unsound. We make no reser- 
vation as to the description of horse, his occupation, or 
what he may be worth. We scarcely ever had, indeed 
scarcely ever knew, a horse that had been used, and tried 
sufficiently to prove him a good one, that was in every 
particular unequivocally sound. We have no doubt that 
there are thousands of owners of horses who will at once 
say we are wrong in this assertion, and would be ready to 
produce their own horses as undeniable proofs whereby 
to back their opinions and refute ours. They may, per- 
haps, say that their horses are never lame — perhaps not; 
that is, not lame in their estimation or to their eye; but we 
daily see horses that go to a certain degree indubitably 
lame, while their owners conceive them to be as indubita- 
bly sound. These horses, perhaps, all do their work per- 
fectly well, are held as sound by owners, servants, acquaint- 
ances, and casual observers; but a practical eye would detect 
an inequality in their going, as a watchmaker would do 
the same in the movement of a watch, though we might 
look for a week, or listen for the same length of time, with- 
out being able to either see or hear the variation. The 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 185 

watch might, however, on the average, keep fair time, but 
it would not be a perfect one; and what matters, if it 
answers all the purposes for which we want it? A really 
bad watch, that can not keep time, is a different affair. It 
is pretty much the same with a horse; if the unsoundness 
is such as to render him unable to do his work, or even to 
do it unpleasantly to himself or owner, or if it is likely to 
bring him to this, our advice is to have nothing to do with 
him. If, however, this is not the case, or likely to be so, if 
you like him, buy him. 

It is not improbable that a man may say, I begin to be- 
lieve that few horses that have done work are quite sound, 
but a sound one I will have; I will, therefore, buy a four- 
year-old, that has never done a day's work. We will ac- 
knowledge that, if he does so, he may probably get his de- 
sideratum; but do not let him make too sure of this. There 
are such things as four-year-olds unsound, as well as 
worked. But, supposing him to have got this sound ani- 
mal, what has he got? An animal that he has got to run 
the risk of making useful, so far as teaching him his busi- 
ness goes; and by the time this is effectually done, and the 
colt has arrived at a serviceable age, he will probably be 
quite as unsound as many of those he has rejected; inde- 
pendent of which, and supposing him to continue sound, 
the breeder of this horse must have better luck or better 
judgment in breeding than his neighbors, if more than one 
in five or six that he does breed turn out desirable horses in 
every respect. If he turns out but a middling sort of beast, 
it is but small satisfaction to know that he is sound; in fact, 
so little satisfaction should we feel that, if we were com- 
pelled to keep and use him, so far from rejoicing that he 
was sound, we should only regret that he was not dead. 

In relation to the doings of dealers in horses, it is not 
our present object to expose the tricks of the trade, or to 



180 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

prejudice the unsophisticated buyer against all horse-deal- 
ers. There are honest horse-dealers, and there are dis- 
honest ones; and we are sorry to say that, in numbers, the 
latter predominate — that honesty in horse-dealing is not 
proverbial. But horse-dealers, like other mortals, are apt 
to err in judgment, and all their acts should not be set 
down as willful wrong-doings. However, be their acts 
what they may, the general verdict is against their motives. 
Therefore, supposing we could bring any person or num- 
ber of persons to believe the fact that a man conversant 
with horses might sell as a sound horse one that might, on 
proper inspection, be returned as unsound, all that we could 
say or write would never convince the majority of persons 
that a dealer could innocently do the same thing. If his 
judgment errs, and leads him into error as to the soundness 
of his horse, it is set down, not as willful or corrupt perjury 
as to oath, but most undoubtedly as to his word and honesty. 

V. Stumbling. — [The following i.s in reply to a 
request for a cure for stumbling. — Editor.] 

The usual causes are infirmity, peculiar formation, gait, 
indolence, and bad roads. If a horse blunders from weak- 
ness or infirmity, a blow with a whip will not render the 
infirmity less. Keeping such a horse a little on his mettle 
will in many cases make him go safely to a certain extent 
— that is, it may, by preventing his dwelling long on either 
weak limb, also prevent it giving way under the weight im- 
posed on it; but hitting him when it has so given way as to 
cause a stumble, can not recall the stumble, but will very 
probably increase its effects. If blundering arises from 
formation, no whipping, whensoever applied, can alter that; 
and if from formation the horse can not put his foot 
fairly or squarely on the ground, blunder he will and must; 
he can not help it; so, how can correction do any good in 
this case? When arising from gait, correction with the 
whip when he stumbles will not alter the gait; but the 
hands, when behind him or on his back, with the whip and 
spurs as aids, may, if properly used, when he is not in the act 



THE PRAIRIK lARMER HORSE BOOK 187 

of Stumbling, ('orrecting the cause may do a great deal 
of good; but correcting, or rather punishing, the animal 
will not prevent or remedy the effect. Should the horse 
blunder from sheer indolence, correct the indolence as 
much as you please. If he will not be roused to energy, 
or, at all events, to quick motion, from one stroke of a 
whip, nor take notice of ordinary emphatic remarks, make 
use of stronger, together with more severe touches of the 
whip, and by thus making so lazy a brute move more 
quickly, make him move more safely. Why is this? If 
we make a lazy horse trot three miles in twelve or 
fifteen minutes, he must move his legs quickly. If a 
horse will walk right along cheerfully four miles and 
a half an hour, we generally find him as safe in a walk 
as in a trot. But so long as he is allowed to walk, all his 
energies cease also, and then he blunders again — and so 
he will do as long as he is a horse. Bad roads will 
make the fastest horse trip occasionally, perhaps fre- 
quently; and in such cases, riders or drivers are apt to do 
what renders the matter worse. They hold their horse 
tight in hand, the effect of which is, that it prevents all 
freedom to his action, and the making use of that instinct 
nature has endowed him with in picking his way with 
safety. It is a very common thing to see a horse blunder 
into a rut when his rider makes him cross it at an injudi- 
cious moment; but if a horse voluntarily crosses it, we 
would back him at a hundred to one that he does it safely. 
If, from there being no place where he can plant his foot 
surely down, the horse falters in doing it, what good can 
result from tugging at his mouth because the foothold is 
bad? If he has not sense enough to put his foot on safe 
ground, if there is any, holding his head tight will not put 
sense in it; and striking him for tripping on such occasions 
is worse still, for that will neither mend the roads nor give 
him instinct, though it may frighten what little he has out 
of him. There is yet another and very frequent cause for 
a horse tripping, blundering, or even falling — which is 
fatigue. In this case, striking him for doing what he can 
not avoid is absolute cruelty and injustice, and, as on all 
other occasions, done when he has tripped or blundered is 
perfectly useless. No doubt the whip and spur, plied when 



188 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

he is not blundering, force the poor brute to increased 
action, and from that probably prevent his tripping as often 
as he might otherwise do; but to ride a willing, good horse 
till he requires this is most unjustifiable. 

VI. Heredity and Disease. — The relation which 
heredity bears to disease must not be considered if the 
young animal is born with disease fully developed. As 
with most rules, so there are exceptions to this, and 
especially so with contagious diseases. Thus a glandered 
mare may throw a colt which at birth shows signs of veri- 
table glanders. A sheep diseased with small-pox may 
bring forth lambs showing evidences of this disease on their 
skin. A child may be born with all the evidences of syph- 
ilis. In such cases, an intra-uterine infection has taken 
place, and such disease of the offspring is then termed con- 
genital, or inborn. Now and then it happens that a calf is 
born, at the dissection of which, a few days thereafter, are 
found very distinct tubercular nodules in the pleura. But 
it is a rule with hereditary diseases that the offspring is 
born with only a tendency thereto; that is, the animal is 
born with those imperfect histological arrangements of tis- 
sues which incline it to a ready development of such 
inherent defect or diseases at any time when it should 
happen to become subjected to certain injurious influences 
likely to further such development. 

As with a person descended from consumptive parents, 
who, as a rule, does not become consumptive before his 
twentieth or thirtieth year, so it is, for instance, with loup- 
ing-ill in sheep, which almost to a certainty does not de- 
velop in the offspring before the end of its second year of 
age; and with the offspring of tuberculosis cattle, in which 
the first symptoms of tuberculosis often do not develop 
before the second year, and often much later. Colts de- 
scended from parents afflicted with spavin, ringbone, or 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE liOOK. 189 

windgall are not born with these aihnents, but at most with 
a deficient cellular firmness and incapacity and resistance 
in the bones and synovial membranes, perhaps also a tend- 
ency to faulty development of the bones and joints in size, 
power, and conjunction. Spavin, ringbone, windgalls, etc., 
do not develop before the animal is used for work, or if the 
weakness or vulnerability of the structures are particularly 
great, it may happen even after wanton escapades on the 
pasture, stampedes, or forced exercise. Similar rules 
apply to other hereditary defects or diseases. 

On the other hand, it must be remembered that the 
inherited tendency does not always or necessarily lead to the 
actual disease. A part of the tendency is always born 
with the young animal, even when only one of the parents 
had a transmittible defect or disease, or that to the devel- 
opment of the same conditionate tendency, and although 
the other parent may have given a substantial share to the 
segmentation nucleus sufficient to a certain degree to 
equalize the other. But if from this tendency the same 
disease or defect will appear, depends upon the conditions 
and influences under which the young animal develops. 

A judicious quantitative and qualitative maintenance 
improves the histological arrangement and the power of 
resistance of the various tissues, and lessens the tendency 
thereto, while such diseases that may befall the animal dur- 
ing youth or before maturity, as well as insufficient food 
and faulty management, increase the defective state of the 
tissues, and also enhance the disposition to sink into the 
said hereditary ailments. 

In some hereditary diseases, specific influences must 
necessarily become operative if the existing tendency to 
such ailments should materialize. This seems to be settled 
for certain as regards tuberculosis in man and in cattle, 
since Koch found a bacillus to be the genitor of this dis- 



190 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

ease; and periodic ophthalmia (commonly called moon-blind- 
ness) is very likely due to something similar. It is not 
yet known if any similar specific disease-inducing cause is 
operative in the appearance of roaring, whistling, and other 
hereditary ailments. It is occasionally noticed that a sheep 
during all of its perhaps eight years of life remains en- 
tirely healthy, while the buck who is its sire was suffering 
from louping-ill. Such happenings have led many to be- 
lieve that the disease is not so very hereditary, though 
herein they are certainly mistaken; for that very same 
sheep, after coupling with a perfectly healthy buck, is cai)a- 
ble of bringing forth lambs which, at the end of their second 
year, or later, succumb to louping-ill. The occurrence is 
easily understood from what we have said above on this 
subject. The tendency to louping-ill was in the said sheep 
from its birth, but it remained dormant, and the disease 
did not develop, because the animal grew up and lived 
under favorable conditions. Contrary to this, the louping- 
ill developed in the lambs in the course of time, because 
they happened to grow up under less favorable conditions. 
Cases of this kind, to which the term of atavismus is 
applied, are not very rare. 

The correctness of the above statement concern- 
ing dormant hereditary tendency is perhaps most 
impressively illustrated by that, in mankind, often observed 
transmission from the grandparents of an unnatural perfora- 
tion of the male generative organ, in which the extremity 
of the urethra terminates on the under part of it, close to, 
or even between the testicles, the scrotum being imper- 
fectly formed. A man afflicted with such deformity 
marries, and although his capacity for impregnation is very 
much diminished, he begets a daughter, who of course 
can not have the said deformity. This daughter marries a 
man with perfectly normal genital organs, and all his sons 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 191 

begotten by this union are born with the grandfather's 
defect, hypospadia. 

VII. Abnormal Conditions of the Skin. — The 

skin is one of the most important organs of secretion; but 
it is also very active as an organ of absorption, and disturb- 
ances of its functions are as reactive upon the whole body 
as internal diseases are upon the skin, through which latter 
the existence and extent of such diseases are distinctly 
manifested, and upon the healthy condition of which a 
favorable crisis is often determined or dependent. It is a 
sign of a general healthy condition of the body when the 
skin over the whole surface is soft, elastic, evenly and 
moderately warm, and slightly oily to the touch. 

In all feverish diseases, the skin becomes hard, dry, 
and parchment-like, and, together with increased heat, 
this is especially the case in acute hectic fever, in putrid 
fever, and in nervous fever. The skin is cold, dry, and 
parchment-like during the chills of active fevers, and dur- 
ing which it may also here and there, in patches, become hot, 
and even wet. But when in the course of active, or sthenic,, 
fever such skin becomes softer, generally warmer, more 
moist, or vaporous-like, these are indications of subsidence 
of the fever and of commencing recovery. 

A greasy matter is secreteu by the skin in so-called wet 
or ulcerating scab in sheep, in so-called red mange in dogs, 
and in scurfy eczema of the lips in sucking calves and 
lambs. The skin is dry, dusty, or scaly in the so-called 
mealy or branny tetter, or furfuraceous herpes, of horses 
and cattle. In cases of grease, so-called mallenders, 
scratches, and in tetter of the mane and tail of horses, the 
affected parts of the skin are in the beginning more or less 
pimply, or postulous and greasy; later, however, this con- 
dition changes somewhat, when the skin becomes more and 
more wrinkled, and only the crevices are moist and greasy. 



192 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

In burns of the skin, vesicles or blisters appear on the 
affected surface, or there may be exudation of lymph, pus 
secretion, or the skin is found hard and solid like sole- 
leather, and insensible, and beneath this there may be 
going on a preparative action for its organic detachment, 
by the formation of pus, or pus may already he fully 
developed, and the crust found partly detached. 

When the skin in the course of an active, or sthenic, 
fever is not uniformly soft, warm, and humid, the disease 
is then yet progressing; but continues the skin to be cold 
while it is wet and perspiration even dripping, then the 
fever has reached a dangerous degree. When it can be 
seen that the skin is uniformly dark-red and compact in its 
texture, it is an indication of increased action; while a pale, 
doughy texture of the skin indicates a decrease of action, 
or an asthenic condition. When the skin in the course of 
an active inflammation becomes a brownish-red, inflamma- 
tion has reached its highest degree; but when it assumes a 
peculiar pale, leaden glance, it is evidence of the near ap- 
proach of, or already existing, hot gangrene, or gangrene 
proper, with simultaneous atony of the cutaneous vessels, 
which local debility may very easily become general, and 
soon end the animal's existence. In quinsy, or malignant 
sore throat, in swine, the skin in places becomes of a 
nearly blue-red color. 

It is also a sign of complete exhaustion, and of ap- 
proach of dissolution as well as of mortification proper, 
when in the course of an asthenic disease the pale skin 
assumes the color of dry earth. 

The skin assumes a yellow tint in cases of interrupted 
secretions of bile, biliary engorgement, disease of the 
portal vein or the biliary system, in jaundice, etc. A 
peculiar deep-red rose-color appears in erysipelas. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 193 

Of course, it must be understood that all of these dif- 
ferent variations in the color of the skin can only be 
clearly distinguished on animals having a light skin, such 
as on white-born horses and on sheep and swine; but even 
on animals with a dusky skin, the mentioned variations in 
color may be more or less distinctly apparent through the 
dark-gray surface when the morbid conditions to which 
they are due exist in a higher degree. 

VIII. Care of Animals Recovering from Dis- 
ease. — After the subsidence of an active disease, the res- 
toration to perfect health commonly proceeds with rapidity. 
The appetite being often excessive, and the assimilative 
powers proportionately active, in such cases, little care in 
the arrangement of the food is necessary, so that a liberal 
allowance of food be given. The ordinary food will be 
eaten with avidity and with benefit, so that the animal be 
not allowed to eat to repletion. In other instances, the 
patient advances slowly to the convalescent state, a fas- 
tidious appetite and impaired digestion retarding the 
recovery by preventing the animal eating, or at any rate 
appropriating, the material which the system really re- 
quires. In the meantime, the animal's taste may be con- 
sulted, and any tempting morsels offered; the admixture 
of condiments is sometimes the most ready method of 
provoking appetite and aiding digestion; salt, turmeric, 
anise-seed, and various spices are at times effective, com- 
bined with the ordinary diet. 

One golden rule deserves unceasing repetition, viz., 
never to leave any food which the animal has refused in 
his sight or within his reach; and second only to this maxim 
is another, which insists on scrupulous cleanliness in the 
hand which touches the food and the vessel containing it. 
Let those who question the necessity for such delicacy ob- 
serve how the horse and other animals test everything by 

13 



194 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

the sense of smell, and judge how important it is that the 
extreme sensitiveness of the sick subject should not be 
outraged by even an offensive odor. 

When extreme debility is present, food must be selected 
with care, as the digestive function is easily disturbed. 
The diet for such cases is to be tolerably rich in starch 
and sugar, as deficiency of reparative material is often 
more serious than diminution of the muscular structure; 
hence the value of mixtures containing oil-cake, linseed, 
potatoes, etc. But no amount of nutriment is of the least 
use to the organism so long as there is a deficiency of 
fuel for the respiratory function. The development of 
the muscular system will follow as soon as the animal is 
sufficiently recovered to take exercise; for during the' 
period of absolute inaction it is in vain we try to pre- 
serve the integrity of this structure, but no difficulty is 
found in keeping up the proper quantity of fatty texture 
while the patient is )-et too prostrate to be exercised with 
safety. 

A suppurating surface of any extent is usually asso- 
ciated with considerable debility, sometimes with danger- 
ous and even fatal prostration; the healing process may 
proceed satisfactorily for a time, and suddenly be arrested 
for a time; a general languor affects the system, although 
the appetite may remain good. The proper dietetics in 
such instances will include not only nutritious, but stim- 
ulating food; thus, if the digestion remains active, ground 
oats, barley, and corn may be allowed, together with 
good hay, also any preparations containing condiments. 
The medical treatment at the same time \^ill principally 
consist of tonics and cardiac stimulants, the object being 
to increase the energy of the circulatory and nervous sys- 
tems, as well as to furnish abundant material for the 
reparative process. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 195 

Under extreme prostration, digestion is invariably sus- 
pended, consequently no advantage can possibly follow the 
introduction of food into the system at such a time, if we 
except aliment of the blandest and most soluble kind. The 
practice of giving a horse an extra allowance of oats, and 
probably corn, after an extra amount of work has produced 
absolute exhaustion, is, to say the least, extremely injudi- 
cious; the animal would be far better left entirely without, 
as an alternative, although, as we have stated, a bland and 
soluble diet, a well-cooked gruel, will be beneficial, and will 
answer all the purposes of a heavy meal. 

IX. Perspiration — Evil Consequences of Its 
Suppression. — Many of the diseases of horses and cattle 
are caused by suppressed or checked perspiration; the 
various appearances they assume depending, perhaps, in a 
great measure, upon the suddenness with which the dis- 
charge is stopped, and the state of the animal at the time 
it takes place. Thus, if a horse, after being heated and 
made to sweat by exercise, and then suffered to stand still, 
be exposed to a cold wind or rain, a fever, or inflammation 
of some internal organ, will probably be the consequence; 
and the disease thus produced will be still more serious if 
the horse's exercise has been such as to produce considera- 
ble fatigue. If, on the other hand, a cold current of air be 
admitted to a horse's body as he stands in a stable, it will 
often cause a catarrh or cold. Cattle often suffer from 
being kept in cold, bleak situations, particularly in the early 
part of spring, during the prevalence of a northwesterly or 
northeasterly wind. In this case, the suppression of the 
perspiration is more gradual, and the diseases which result 
from it are slower in their progress, consequently more 
insidious in their nature; and it often happens that the ani- 
mal is left in the same cold situation until the disease is 
incurable. It seems probable that in these cases the per- 



196 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

spiring vessels gradually lose their power, and that at 
length a total and permanent suppression of that necessary 
discharge takes place; hence arises consumption, decayed 
liver, mesenteric obstructions, and various other complaints. 
How necessary, therefore, it is to provide sheltered situa- 
tions for the stock. How many diseases might not be pre- 
vented by such precaution, and how much might not be 
saved, not only in preserving the lives of the cattle, but in 
avoiding the expense, too often useless, of cattle-doctoring! 

X. Transmission of Qualities. — J. H. P., Mount 
Pleasant, Iowa, writes: 

I have confused ideas about what I see you referring to occasionally 
as to influence of parent on offspring, such as constitution, inbreeding, 
development, disease, and so on. Please explain these matters suffi- 
ciently for ordinary understanding. 

That " like begets like" is a rule having very extensive 
sway; yet, as propagation is the work of two parents, the 
respective influence of the one or the other is a matter 
involving considerable diversity of opinion, and prevents 
anything like a certain conclusion being arrived at. In the 
breeding of the animals, if the object be to modify certain 
defects, by using a male or a female in which such defects 
may not exist, we can not produce this desired alteration, 
or, rather, it can not be equally produced in all the offspring, 
but can only be attained by weeding out those animals in 
which the ojectionable points are repeated. Many breed- 
ers, finding their attempts at improvement frequently 
baffled, cling with superstitious tenacity to the doctrine of 
purity of blood, believing it to be the only course by which 
true safety is to be found. 

Now, pure breeding, which when carried to excess 
is called in-and-in-breeding, has its advantages as well as 
its disadvantages. Its friends observe, with great force, 
that when we have in breeding reached great excellence, it 
is folly to risk the loss of such excellence by means of 
crossing; and the more so as the defects of a parent may 
disappear in a first or second and reappear in a third or 
fourth generation — "breeding back," as it is commonly 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 197 

termed. Again, it is urged tliat excellencies can only be 
perpetuated by union with similar excellencies, and beyond 
all this that there is a certain amount of advantage from an 
unstained lineage — from the very possession of breed, as it 
is designated. The objectors to in-and-in-breeding urge 
that by so doing we engender weakness of constitution, 
diminution of size, hereditary diseases, and also a tendency 
to barrenness; but it is argued in reply to such objections 
that they occur from want of sufficient care in weeding out 
defective animals, whether as respects constitution or size. 
Unless the choice is extremely confined, most of the evils 
of pure breeding can be avoided by careful selection and 
vigorous weeding. 

High breeding, or pure breeding, refers to very differ- 
ent desiderata in different breeds. In thoroughbred horses 
it signifies a very high development of the muscular and 
nervous systems, accompanied by such mechanical structure 
as, when united with it, constitutes the highest manifesta- 
tions of speed and endurance. In the ox, however, it im- 
plies very different qualities, viz., early and rapid growth 
— the development of flesh or muscle on the parts most 
prized for food — a disposition to lay on fat; and these, with 
the possession of the smallest amount of bone consistent 
with strength and health, are the principal characteristics of 
a well-bred animal. Instead of the highly nervous temper- 
ament of the race-horse, we have here a quiet, lazy dispo- 
sition — in fact, a lymphatic temperament, by the influence 
of which the digestive organs reign supreme, and convert, 
for the public benefit, a given quantity of food into the 
utmost of flesh and fat. The same observations apply with 
equal force to the sheep, and in a still stronger degree to 
the pig. A well-bred pig is the incarnation of everything 
indolent and lethargic, and the very antipodes of that high 
organization and nervous development which belongs to a 
high-bred horse. 

Everyone conversant with animals knows that not only 
their natural, but many of their acquired, qualities are 
transmitted by the parents to their offspring. A hereditary 
tendency may be defined as a strong proneness in the con- 
stitution to assume the same characteristics that existed in 
one or i^oth of the parents. It will be perceived that this 



198 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

definition will comprise the mental as well as physical 
peculiarities — the excellencies as well as the defects in the 
constitution — as we take it for granted it is a conceded 
point that numerous satisfactory examples can be adduced 
of excellence and talent as well as weakness and vices, of 
the parents being transmitted to their offspring. Animals 
may be born free from disease, but with peculiar textures 
in certain localities, of such imperfect kind as to become 
morbidly affected by causes which would produce no effect 
whatever on limbs or textures soundly developed. 

, It is known by all physiologists that the body we pos- 
sess to-day is an entirely different body from that which we 
possessed a few years ago, and that every atom of the 
structures of which this body is composed to-day will be 
totally and entirely changed in a few years hence — if we 
are still in existence. Decay and reproduction are proc- 
esses constantly going on in every living body; it is 
nature's process, an inflexible condition of vitality going 
on throughout the entire constitution. The peculiarities of 
constitution continue to operate, in their own secret, silent, 
mysterious, but never-varying courses. 

It is very questionable to our mind whether any known 
method of treatment can possibly prohibit the development 
or natural progress of any morbid condition in its legiti- 
mate locality; we are strongly impressed with the idea that 
it is a pre-existing germ, as certain as the oak is contained 
in the acorn. Nature's laws are wise; physical defects 
must assert themselves. Nature can fully accomplish her 
task, but she stops at the limit of her destination; the in- 
alienable attribute was stamped upon the foetus in the 
womb, and can not be changed by human invention. 

We may define .diseased conditions in this connection. 
Acute and chronic diseases, properly speaking, belong to a 
a different type from those of a hereditary origin. Acute 
diseases are generally referable to extraneous and violent 
causes, and are of comparatively short duration; chronic 
diseases are generally referable to the continuance of 
causes inadequate in themselves to induce acute diseases; 
but hereditary diseases are referable to no apparent cause 
— they are a natural condition in the development of the 
animal. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 199 

XI. The Temperature of the Body.— The dis- 
tribution of the bodily heat is very different in the various 
conditions of the living animal. In perfect health of the 
animal, the temperature of the skin is only a few degrees 
less than that of the blood. The temperature of the body 
can, of course, not be judged with any degree of certainty 
by the application of the hand to the surface; for the hand 
may happen to be either very cold or very warm. To a 
very cold hand the temperature of a sick animal might ap- 
pear to be very high, while to a warm hand the same sur- 
face would appear to be the contrary. The ancients had 
no better means of estimating the temperature of bodies 
than that of observing the sensation of heat or of cold 
imparted to the hand. 

The idea of the existing temperature, which was ob- 
tained by placing the hand in contact with the body or 
diseased part, depending solely on the acuteness of the 
observer's perception, could at least be only approximately 
correct, and must often have been wholly false. The sense 
of touch may be educated to a delicate appreciation of heat 
and cold, but it is always liable to error from various 
causes. For example, the skin of the animal examined 
may impart a sensation of considerable hotness, when the 
thermometer would reveal entire absence of fever; and, on 
the other hand, the skin may be cold to the touch during 
the existence of a more or less pronounced elevation of 
temperature. The clinical thermometer now takes the 
place of former methods of ascertaining the temperature 
of the interior of the body, or the blood-heat. 

In cases of disease, it is often very important to cor- 
rectly ascertain the temperature of the body. With regard 
to the external heat of the body, it is also essential to know 
if the same degree of heat prevails over the whole surface, 
or if some parts appear abnormally warm or cold. An 



^00 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

abnormal general increase of heat is an indication of fever, 
while increased heat of a limb or a circumscribed part of 
the body generally is a sign of congestion or inflammation 
of such part. When the general bodily heat is lowered, it 
is a sign of intercepted, suppressed, or enfeebled vital 
energy, and which may be either general or local. Cold- 
ness of the body, trembling and shivering, are, therefore, 
observed in the beginning of inflammatory fevers, because 
the free action of the capillary vessels of the surface of the 
body is interrupted. With the recurrence of free circula- 
tion, there is an increase of heat, and when this becomes 
general over the whole body it is a favorable sign, or a sign 
that the vital forces have conquered the morbid disturb- 
ances, when a beneficial crisis follows, which soon mani- 
fests itself by a general healthful and non-exhausting 
perspiration. 

A dry heat, which causes the skin to become tense like 
parchment, is a sign of continued progress of a disease. 
This is also the case when heat appears unequally dis- 
tributed over the body; for instance, when the inside of 
the mouth and the whole of the head are very hot and the 
limbs are cold. It is an unfavorable sign when perspira- 
tion breaks out while the body remains cold, or when per- 
spiration appears at some parts of the body and not at 
others. By such perspiration the animal feels no relief, 
and the morbid degree of irritation is not lessened thereby; 
the vital strength appears unable to match the then pend- 
ing struggle for life, and is even threatened to be over- 
come in the effort, or to be entirely destroyed in the strug- 
gle 'of the reaction. The appearance of a cold perspira- 
tion, as well as a general coldness over the whole surface 
of the body, during a paroxysm of fever, or during an acute 
inflammation, especially when also the exhaled air. whirh 
hitherto was warm, now becomes cold, is always an uu 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 201 

favorable sign — a sign of approaching mortification and 
death. 

XII. Bad Effects of Overfeeding.— No horse 
ought to be overfed, or to have an unhmited allowance of 
highly or even considerably nutritious food. The pack- 
ing of a horse with as much food as he can take, under 
the mistaken notion either of kindnesjs to the animal or 
of its enabling him to perform a maximum of work, not 
only wastes the food and does the horse no real good, but 
injures the constitution and predisposes him to many 
dangerous inflammatory diseases. His stomach, when un- 
duly full, presses upon the diaphragm, diminishes the sur- 
rounding area of the chest, encumbers the oxygenizing 
action of the lungs, impedes the heart's power of pro- 
pelling the blood with sufficient velocity through the vari- 
ous textures of the body, and, in consequence, diminishes 
the energy of the whole system, induces a lethargic and 
somnolent tendency in the functions of the brain, dilutes 
the strength and vitality of all the secretions which are im- 
mediately dependent on the circulation, and occasions the 
formation and deposition of fatty matter in lieu of some 
of the requisite renovation of muscle. The repletion of 
the stomach also weakens its mechanical action in conse- 
quence of excessive distention, enfeebles its secretive 
power in consequence of an overload of matter, and 
makes an exorbitant demand upon its gastric juice in con- 
sequence of the enormous scope afforded for the decom- 
position of the proximate principles of nutrition. 

All food, like all other dead organic matter, has a tend- 
ency to resolve itself into its elements. It encounters a 
thorough resistance of this tendency, so as to pass into 
actual nourishment, partly by the direct reducing action of 
the stomach, and partly by the antiseptic power of the 
peculiar gastric secretion called the gastric juice; and when 



^0:^ THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

it is swallowed in such a quantity as not to be wholly 
reducible by the gastric action and completely saturated 
with the gastric juice, some portion of it is decomposed, 
and not only ceases to be food, but forms putrid and nox- 
ious combinations, which irritate the intestines, and pro- 
duce either actual disease or, at least, a morbific disposi- 
tion. So long as an animal experiences the sensation of 
hunger, the gastric juice is poured out from the coats of 
the stomach in sufficient quantity to saturate the aliment 
that is swallowed; but that feeling once appeased, the 
secretion of the juice either ceases entirely, or its proper- 
ties are so altered and weakened as to be no longer capable 
of offering due resistance to the putrefactive process. 
Thus, beyond a certain quantity, every mouthful of food, 
placed as it must be in the situation most likely to favor 
decomposition — namely, one of warmth and moisture — 
speedily becomes a putrid mass, evolving a large quantity 
of noisome gas (as does every animal or vegetable substance 
in this state), by which distention is increased and acidity 
and irritation produced. 

Continued repletion, therefore, produces direct diseases 
of the stomach, the intestines, and the circulatory system; 
it produces, in particular, prevailing costiveness, occasional 
diarrhea, and continued feebleness of vital secretion; and 
It excites, or indirectly and slowly produces, many inflam- 
matory affections, many chronic disorders, and almost all 
the morbid conditions of organs or functions to which dif- 
ferent breeds or constitutions may be liable — in the viscera 
of one class of horses, in the brain of another, in the eyes 
of a third, and in the lungs or liver or other organs of the 
fourth. Even continued feeding, though neither the prog- 
ress nor the aggregate of it should ever amount to actual 
repletion, is exceedingly injurious. The single and com- 
paratively small stomach of a horse, just as really as that of 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 203 

a human being, needs regular intervals of repose, and can 
not, without serious damage, be kept constantly working 
upon a continuous supply of food. It performs its func- 
tions in a progressive or serial manner, first liberally secret- 
ing gastric juice in preparation for a meal, next saturating 
the materials of the meal with the gastric juice, and work- 
ing them up into a homogeneous mass, and next com- 
minutes successive portions of the mass into the fine pulp 
called chyme, and discharges them into the pylorus on 
their way to yield up their nourishing juices to the system; 
and only when it has conducted most part of a meal 
through the whole process, or has nearly finished the 
reduction of the whole mass into chyme, does it return 
to a vigorous secretion of more gastric juice, preparatory 
to the reception and saturation and digestion of the con- 
tents of another meal. Hence the alternate disrelish for 
food and keen hungering for it on the part of a healthy 
and regularly feeding human being; and hence, too, the 
necessity, in both man and horse, of taking food in meals, 
and of completely abstaining from it during the whole of 
every interval between meals. The effect of putting fresh 
food into the stomach before the previous meal has been 
digested is either to excite the stomach to secrete fresh 
gastric juice, and so overtax its powers, or to send the food 
in a decomposed or decomposing state into the intestines, 
and so produce irritation and disease. 

XIII. Objectionable Harness.— Custom is a per- 
verse enemy to all advancement, and possesses no greater 
stronghold than it does among owners of horses. Harness 
should be made as light as possible compatible with 
strength and durability, so as not only to lessen the bur- 
den of the horse, but to allow greater comfort. There 
are many of the parts appertaining to a comple set of har- 
ness calling for reform, but as we intend only to call atten- 



204 IHE HRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

tion to such portions where improvement suggests itself, 
our remarks will be confined to winkers, collars, and bear- 
ing-reins. 

Beginning with the smaller evil, we ask what benefit 
" winkers " confer on a horse, other than enabling him to 
catch the dust in his eyes, and preventing him from seeing 
what he is doing. Custom will reply that if a horse is 
worked without winkers he will be affrighted when he hears 
the noise of and sees the vehicle behind him. We can not 
realize why a distinction is drawn between saddle and har- 
ness horses — why the latter should and the former should 
not wear them. 

Admitting that we have more command over a horse when 
in the saddle, which is asserted to be the reason for the non- 
necessity of winkers in saddle-horses, surely this should 
not subject a horse taken from riding and put to driving 
purposes to the evil of being demi-blindfolded. From the 
absence of winkers, the horse can see what is behind him, 
and knows that it is an inanimate body which will do him 
no hurt, having examined it in his mind's eye before being 
hitched to it; whereas, had he winkers, he would be igno- 
rant of the true cause of the clatter, and more likely to be 
frightened. It would not be wise, except with docile 
horses, to discard winkers where they have always been 
used; but we should "break in" horses without them, thus 
giving the young horse confidence by allowing him to see 
what he is doing, and in some measure to use his own 
judgment. 

For some years past there has been considerable agita- 
tion against the use of bearing-reins, which has not caused 
a corresponding decrease in their use, and which perhaps 
may be accounted for on the same principle as that clergy- 
man understood who exhorted his hearers to do as he said, 
and not as he did. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 205 

Tight and continued reining causes poll-evil, strains the 
deep-seated ligaments and muscles. It assists the causes 
productive of megrims, and induces vice, such as jibbing 
and rearing. This should be sufficient to discourage their 
use against anything that can be advanced in favor of their 
retention. We are told that it gives contour to the neck; 
but where breed is lacking, no bearing-rein can remedy the 
defect by putting an arched crest upon a ewe-necked ani- 
mal. Well, it keeps him up. Nonsense. The driver keeps 
his eye upon the animal he is driving, and at the slightest 
trip reminds his charge by a slight check, which has the 
effect, not of keeping him up, but of making him keep 
himself up. The reins, being held easily, though not care- 
lessly, can be tightened or elongated to the easement of 
the horse when going down or ascending a hill, or to allow 
for the play of the head caused by the motion of the 
body. But the bearing-rein permits none of these. Do not 
think that when you see a noble horse standing in a car- 
riage, tossing his head and clamping his bit, that it is his 
pride. No; he is endeavoring to obtain a moment's cessa- 
tion of the pain inflicted by his head being constrained by 
the short rein. 

If none of these arguments suffice for light harness, at 
any rate they should prevail for one class of horses. Any- 
one who has noticed a heavy draft-horse begin moving an 
exceedingly weighty load — to exert greater power the 
animal lowers his head, and almost crawls along the ground; 
and yet such horses are universally provided with this rein. 
As in the case of winkers, we do not advise a general 
and immediate discontinuance of bearing-reins, as there 
are some sluggards who hang and depend on the bit; but 
if all young horses were taught to work independent of 
them, there would be but few subjects — and those from 
some natural defect — that would be benefited by their use. 



206 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

But there is still another important part of horses' 
harness requiring amendment, and that is the collar, and 
which, from being constantly pressed against the neck, 
interferes with the free return of blood from the head. 
Further, it impedes respiration, produces fistulous withers, 
poll-evil, and other ills. Sore shoulders are of frequent 
occurrence, causing great inconvenience to their owners by 
throwing animals out of work. The substitution of a 
breast-harness would remedy most of the inconvenience of 
the collar. It affords a greater surface for pressure, 
being thus less likely to produce galls, besides having its 
bearings upon parts less affecting the breathing and super- 
ficial circulation. 

The disuse of winkers and bearing-reins we are satisfied 
would be no loss. Of the abandonment of collars for 
breast-straps, we can see no cogent reason against. But 
we may safely maintain that custom alone retards improve- 
ments being made in horses' harness. 




PART XV. 
A FEW THINGS TO BE REMEMBERED. 



I. Condition-Powders, Etc. — The so-called condi- 
tion-powders are resorted to for the purpose of remedying 
a variety of ailments of the digestive organs which are 
due to debility, inactivity, and disturbed secretion, such as 
loss of appetite, dyspepsia, indigestion, chronic catarrh of 
the stomach and intestines, acidity of the stomach, etc. 
Among the ingredients usually employed are a variety of 
such as contain bitter, bitter-aromatic, and spicy proper- 
ties, as gentian, calamus, wormwood, tansy, rhubarb, mint, 
caraway-seed, ginger, mustard, coffee, juniper-berries, va- 
lerian, anise-seed, fenugreek, fennel-seed; besides sulphur, 
saltpetre, common salt, Glauber's salt, black antimony, 
etc. Together with a variety of these materials, most, if 
not all, of the so-called food-tonics and condition-powders 
contain large additions of ground beans, corn-meal, oil- 
cake, flaxseed-meal, etc. 

Most of the so-called condition-powders and cure-alls, 
highly lauded by the manufacturers and venders thereof, 
are compounded of waste materials and overkept, spoiled 
roots, herbs, and seeds, unfit for the retail drug trade or 
the prescription-counter, and the medicinal effect of which 
upon the animal economy is next to nil, if not actually 
injurious; and for such compounds, put up in packages, 
with labels printed in elaborate colors, prices are asked 
which exceed from 50 to 75 per cent, the actual value of 
the contents, even supposing these to be of the best quality. 

(207) 



208 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

The condition-powders sold in the trade, if they are of 
any merit at all, are not more effective than a combination 
of common salt with bitter-aromatic vegetables. Equal 
parts of common salt and wormwood, both powdered and 
intimately mixed, make a very good appetizer and digest- 
ive stimulant for cattle. Equal parts of common salt 
and gentian-root, both powdered and well mixed, make an 
excellent excitant and tonic for the digestive organs of the 
horse. To horses and cattle, these simple and effective 
ingredients may be given twice or thrice daily, a heaping 
tablespoonful at a time, mixed among oats, mill-feed, or 
steamed feed. But of whatever material condition-pow- 
ders are made, they should not be used continually; and a 
good plan would be to use them during alternate weeks, 
and then only for such length of time as necessity may 
appear to require. Their use for animals in good condition 
and robust health is apt to prove injurious, by overstimu- 
lation of the vital organs. 

For loss of appetite or digestive debility, the following 
two combinations are useful: Mix together in form of 
powder equal parts of common salt, gentian-root, and cal- 
amus- root, or equal parts of common salt, calamus-root 
(or wormwood or tansy), and juniper-berries; a heaping 
tablespoonful of these twice or thrice a day for horses or 
cattle, and one or two teaspoonfuls for sheep. When mixed 
among oats, this should be slightly moistened with water, to 
prevent the powder from being blown away. A good plan 
would be to take a double handful of the oats, moisten it and 
mix the powder with it, and then mix this with the balance 
of the ration, in which way it does not get too wet. The 
powder containing juniper-berries is especially calculated 
to also gently act upon the kidneys, when such action is 
desirable, as, for instance, during stormy, wet, and cold 
weather. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 209 

Another simple, but very effective, remedy in cases of 
indigestion, dyspepsia, or tardy digestion, consists of equal 
quantities (by weight always) of common salt and tobacco. 
The tobacco should not be in powder, but fine-cut and well 
mixed with fine salt, and given among food, the same as 
before stated. 

A very good combination for use in cases of tardy func- 
tions of the liver, or in colds, catarrh, distemper, or 
strangles, consists of two drams of tartar-emetic, six 
drams of Epsom salts, and three ounces of calamus-root, 
all in powder. Divide into four parts. Give morning, 
noon, and night. This will, however, not be taken by the 
animal voluntarily, and is best given by mixing the dose 
with just enough molasses to make a stiff paste, which, with 
a flattened, smooth stick of wood, may be placed well back 
upon the root of the tongue. This may be continued from 
three to six days. 

In certain disturbances of the physiological functions 
of the horse's stomach, sometimes called dyspepsia or in- 
digestion, but which in reality are due to intestinal catarrh, 
there is generally a disproportion between pepsin and free 
gastric acid, whereby either the surplus or residue of this 
acid, or a scarcity of hydrochloric acid, is brought about. 
An excess of acidity will generally manifest itself in the 
dung, which will often have a marked sour odor, and show 
acid reaction. Normally, fresh horse-dung is alkaline. 
Among the causes due to management are irregular feed- 
ing times; too large allowances of food and water; coarse, 
bulky, and fibrous, or musty or otherwise unsound, hay and 
unsound grain; also too fast and greedy eating, so-called 
bloating, and consequent incomplete mastication of the 
food; fast driving too soon after watering; or faulty teeth, 
causing incomplete mastication. 

14 



210 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

The avoidance of such causes as may be ascertained to 
exist is of the first importance; otherwise medication 
would be useless, and no improvement could be expected. 
In regard to feeding, such a horse should not be given bran 
or bran-mashes while the bowels are loose. A good-sized 
lump of brown rock-salt, obtainable in most feed-stores, 
should be kept constantly in the feed-box. The horse will 
lick at this between meals, and satisfy the needs of the 
system. There is no danger of him taking too much_ 
Besides being a stimulant to digestion, it is inimical to in- 
testinal parasites. But if further medication should appear 
necessary, mix together one part of powdered carbonate of 
soda, five parts of powdered common salt, ten parts of 
powdered sulphate of soda, and ten parts of powdered cal- 
amus-root. Of this mix a tablespoonful with each food 
ration in the manner above suggested. 

II. Blister. — Blistering constitutes one of the most 
effective appliances of the healing art, and is one of the 
chief remedies in a considerable number of diseases. The 
main principle on which it acts is that of counter-irritation, 
or of reducing inflammatory action in an interior organ of 
the animal system by exciting a stronger local inflamma- 
tion on the nearest exterior part of the system; and a sub- 
ordinate principle is the accelerating of the action of the 
nearest blood-vessels, or the rousing of the local absorb- 
ents to a temporary condition of unusual energy. 

Blisters are eminently efficacious in dispersing such 
callous swellings as arise from strains, bruises, and other 
similar causes. They are of great service in reducing the 
inflammation of parts remote from the surface. Thus m- 
flammation of the internal parts of the foot may be reduced 
by blistering above the coronet; inflammation of the 
boweLs, by blistering the abdomen; and inflammation of 
the lungs, by blistering the sides. Blisters are also the best 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 211 

remedies for curbs, windgalls, spavins, and various other 
disorders. When properly made and free from any such 
caustic ingredients as sulphuric acid and corrosive subli- 
mate, they inflict no permanent damage on the skin, and 
do not prevent the hair from growing; and when they are 
not successful in the first application, they can, with all 
safety, be repeated. But a blister ought never to be applied 
to a part which is irritated or tender, for it might then pro- 
duce extensive and virulent sloughing; nor ought it ever to 
be applied where there is a tendency to grease or scratches, 
for it would be likely to aggravate such disorders; and 
whenever it requires to be applied during winter, thor- 
ough care ought to be used to protect the animal from cold 
or from a current of air about the legs. 

When a blister is to be applied, the part should pre- 
viously be cleared as much as possible from hair, a quantity 
of the blistering ointment should be well rubbed into it, 
and a thin coat of the ointment afterward spread over the 
whole surface. A horse, on beginning to feel the action of 
the blister, is very apt to bite the part, and, in consequence, 
both to do serious mischief to the part and to blister his 
mouth. To prevent this, he ought to either be tied short 
or to have what is called a cradle placed about his neck 
during six to eight hours after the application of the blister. 
When a blister is applied to any of the legs, the bedding 
should be removed during the same number of hours; and 
if the hinder limbs are to be blistered, the tail should be 
tied up during the first day. 

The most active ingredients in the great majority of 
suitable blisters are pulverized Spanish flies. One common 
blistering ointment for horses is composed of half an ounce 
of powdered Spanish flies, an ounce of oil of turpentine, 
and four ounces of hog's lard; another is composed of one 
and a half or two ounces of Spanish flies, half an ounce of 



212 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

oil of origanum, one ounce of oil of turpentine, two ounces 
of hog's lard, and four ounces of common tar. Corrosive 
sublimate has frequently been recommended as an ingredi- 
ent of blister; yet, except when very severe blistering, as 
in case of bone spavin or ringbone, is required, it ought 
in every instance to be omitted, for it is very apt to ulcer- 
ate the skin, and leave a permanent mark or blemish. 
Good mustard made into a paste with hot water, and 
applied hot, often blisters as well as ointment of Spanish 
flies, and ought to be used instead of the latter when a large 
surface is to be blistered, such as the sides, the abdomen, 
or the loins. Some of the preparations of iodine and mer- 
cury also make active blisters, and are sometimes used 
mixed with ointment of Spanish flies. 

III. Poultice. — The pasty mass used for medical 
purposes, and to which the name of poultice is given, is 
applied moist and generally in a warm state, and, according 
to the purpose intended or the nature of the case, it pos- 
sesses either emollient, anodyne, or astringent properties. 
The emollient poultice is the most common, and acts on 
the same principle as a fomentation, but more intensely 
and durably, and owes its virtue to the conjoined, continu- 
ous, and prolonged influence of heat and moisture. It is of 
great service for abating inflammation, relieving pain, 
cleansing ulcers, and disposing refractory wounds and sores 
to heal. It is eminently serviceable, and even indispensa- 
ble, in many of the local inflammations and ulcerous dis- 
eases of horses and cattle, and may consist simply of 
boiled turnips, or of mashed carrots, or of a mashy prepa- 
ration of linseed-meal, bran, hog's lard, and boiling water, 
or of linseed-meal alone made into a paste with hot water. 
The last of these is the simplest, and generally the best. 
The anodyne poultice is simply an emollient one, made 
with a strong decoction of poppy-leaves instead of water, 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 213 

or containing a small admixture of opium, and it serves 
exactly the same purposes, with the addition of allaying 
pain; and when a very offensive smell proceeds from the 
ulcer to which it is applied, it becomes extra suital)le by 
being made with a solution of chloride of lime, or by con- 
taining an intermixture of powdered charcoal. The astrin- 
gent poultice is designed to cleanse by drawing, and may 
be made in any one of many ways, with such a substance 
as alum, or sugar of lead, or sulphate of zinc for its active 
principle; but this kind of a poultice is generally more 
injurious than useful, increasing inflammation instead of 
abating it. An emollient or an anodyne poultice may also 
be rendered injurious by any one of these admixtures, or else 
by making the poultice so small that it soon cools and 
dries, or applying it in so hot astateas to give unnecessary 
pain, or by fastening it on so tightly as to impede the cir- 
culation. 

IV. Bran-Mashes. — During the season when horses 
can have no grass, or when they are kept for any length of 
time on dry food, bran is a useful adjunct to other food 
materials. It is rich in nitrogenous matter, but it is useless 
as a food given alone. Its gentle laxative effect is gen- 
erally what we desire to bring about, and it is this which 
explains why it is valueless for feeding purposes. Its ad- 
dition to other food materials may assist in the digestion 
of starchy principles. Most horses relish the admixture of 
bran among their food, but it is unnecessary to give it 
every day and in such unusual ciuantity as is often given, 
and in the long run such quantity would be apt to prove 
injurious in more than one way, especially if the horses at 
the same time were required to do much work daily. A 
good bran-mash once or twice a week is all that is neces- 
sary. When bran is given in large quantities, it undergoes 
fermentation in the stomach, producing colic, etc.; and 



214 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

where it forms a regular article of daily diet, it is likely to 
produce calculi (stone) in the intestines, on account of the 
proportionally large quantities of magnesium phosphate it 
contains. A bran-mash should be made with boiling 
water, and remain covered up until cool enough to eat. 
When bran has become musty, or caked in masses, it is 
unfit for feeding. 

V. To Manage a Broken-winded Horse.— In 

the peculiar state of the lungs of a broken-winded horse, 
the great labor of the abdominal muscles is absolutely nec- 
essary to bring about the proper arterialization of the blood; 
hence, under certain states of atmosphere, when there is 
less oxygen in a given space, or from, perhaps, some other 
peculiar changes in its electrical condition which we can 
not fathom, the difficulty of effecting the oxygenizing of 
the blood is greatly increased. If we urge a badly broken- 
winded horse into exertion, he will drop; he is thrown into 
a state of asphyxia, in which, if he should die, his blood 
will be found quite black. Indeed, in bad cases, as the dis- 
ease advances to a fatal termination, we find the lining 
membrane of the nose and mouth turning purple, evincing 
the condition of his system. According to our present 
knowledge, nothing can be done to effect a cure, though 
happily it is in our power greatly to alleviate the distress- 
ing symptoms. 

If we suppose the difficulty of breathing to arise from 
a gorged condition of lung (which is generally the case in 
any presumed cause of the disease), it is evident that any 
pressure against the diaphragm will increase the difficulty 
of breathing. Although the morbid appearance of 
emphysema of the lungs has not been found practically 
such a constant attendant cause of the complaint as is 
often supposed, yet the carrying out of certain principles 
has proved correct in the treatment; indeed, the practice 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 215 

of regulating the giving of food and water so the horse is 
not obliged to work on a full stomach has its advantages 
in preventing broken-wind. 

The palliative treatment of this disease consists prin- 
cipally in a proper system of dieting. The stomach must 
always be kept unloaded prior to work. Hay, which ap- 
pears to have exerted a baneful influence in producing the 
disease, is to be given sparingly and little at a time, and 
always of the best quality. Give the greatest supply at 
night, dampening it. For a middle-sized horse, seven 
pounds are quite sufficient. 

It may be asked, "Why give hay at all?" To which 
we can only answer, " Necessity obliges us to do so." It is 
a fact, we believe, well known in physiology, that concen- 
trated food will not alone support life. The stomach must 
have a certain quantity or bulk to act on, and were we to 
substitute some sort of straw, we would only increase the 
mischief, since it would be found we must give more straw 
in proportion than hay, the former containing less nutri- 
ment in the ratio of three to one. 

In whatever manner food is given, it is to be either 
dampened or contain a portion of bran-mash, and it ought 
to be of the most nutritious description, at the same time 
readily digestible in kind and form, in order to keep the 
dung in a softened state. A manger food, such as the 
following, seems very applicable: One part ground corn 
and two parts ground oats, with the addition of sliced car- 
rots when they can be readily procured, they seeming to 
act beneficially in preventing the collection of flatus, which 
is so distressing to the animal. 

The quantity of food and the proportions mainly depend 
on the size of the horse and the work he is to perform. If 
carrots are used in any quantity, a proportion of hay may 
be dispensed with accordant with the relative nutritious 



216 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

value. The horse ought to be fed at least four times a 
day, but nothing for two hours before work. The broken- 
winded horse, like the roarer, is always eager for water; but 
give it sparingly, very often, and only a little at a time, the 
greatest quantity in the evening, and debar him from it for 
some time before his work. If fed on carrots or any suc- 
culent food, he will require less water. 

VI. Blindness. — Blindness occurs frequently in 
horses, and very greatly deteriorates their value, rendering 
them useless for some kinds of work and only half useful 
for others. The causes of it are often too obscure or 
recondite to be detected before they produce their effect, 
or to be even conjecturally counteracted by any other 
means than the general good treatment of the animals. 
Two common but quite incurable kinds of blindness in the 
horse are amaurosis and the so-called moon-blindness; and 
a third kind is occasioned by ophthalmic inflammation. 

The blindness of a horse, when induced, may be known 
by the uncertain, unequal, and hesitating manner of his 
gait, by his occasionally lifting the foot as if to step over 
an obstacle when no obstacle exists, by his pricking up his 
ears and moving them in a peculiarly listful manner when 
any person enters the stable, by his hanging back timidly 
and hesitatingly in his halter, and especially by the dilata- 
tion or contraction of the pupil of the eye under sudden 
transitions from light to darkness, or from darkness to 
light. But when a blind horse is mounted by an expert 
horseman, he may show none of the symptoms in hesita- 
tion of gait, but under the action of the whip, and from 
adroit management, may move with perfect resolution and 
freedom. 

A horse blind in but one eye may, according to circum- 
stances, either be very little or very much deteriorated. 
The loss of one eye does not enfeeble sight, because 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 217 

the Other acquires greater energy, though it must contract 
the field of vision. It is said to render the conception 
erring; and the case of misjudgment of distances is the one 
commonly brought forward to show this. But a one-eyed 
horse may not be absolutely condemned for the common 
business of the road or farm. 

Blindness is much more frequent, but far less inveterate, 
among sheep than among horses. If almost any flock of 
sheep be carefully examined, the eyes of many of them will 
either show symptoms of partial or total blindness, or pre- 
sent indications of quite recent recovery from blindness of 
some kind. The most common causes are prolonged 
fatigue, hard driving, chasing about by dogs, burying 
beneath the snow, warm days followed by frosty nights in 
winter, and, as some think, the blowing of the pollen of 
flowers into the eyes, and sometimes either infection or 
some undefined description of epidemic influence. 

In some kinds of blindness, the whole surface of the 
eyeballs has a light-blue color, resembling the color of 
deep salt-water when seen perpendicularly in clear sun- 
shine; but in the more common kinds, a white film grad- 
ually spreads over it till the whole surface seems of a pearly 
whiteness. All the kinds, however, appear to be preceded 
or accompanied by inflammation; and when properly treated, 
or even sometimes when they are merely let alone, they, 
with few exceptions, gradually and speedily disappear. 

VII. Choking of Animals. — Turnips, potatoes, 
apples, bits of carrot, of beet-root, etc., given to our large 
domestic animals, sometimes stick in the gullet. Cases of 
this kind being of a serious nature, the farmer should be 
made aware of the danger and of what is to be done on 
these occasions. We will lay down the best rules to follow 
in such an emergency. If the size of a whole potato or 
turnip sticking in the throat is not considerable, it may be 



218 THF, I'RAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

easily disengaged by reason of its rounded form. It is 
not tiie same, however, with pieces of beet-root or carrot; 
we have seen cows die of suffocation in a few minutes from 
this cause. The crisis has generally a longer duration, 
which permits the application of remedies. The means 
most commonly adopted is to push the thick, rough handle 
of a flexible whip down the animal's throat. This plan 
sometimes succeeds, but only at the imminent risk of more 
or less laceration of the gullet; and animals are frequently 
destroyed by such barbarous treatment. Another not less 
objectionable method consists in breaking down, by heavy 
blows with a mallet, the body sticking in the gullet, which 
by this means is bruised and lacerated. 

When an animal shows the symptoms before described, 
passing the hand down along the left side of the neck, 
immediately behind the windpipe, will ascertain whether 
a foreign body is present. The obstruction being discov- 
ered, half a pint of raw linseed-oil may be given; gentle 
manipulation may be employed on the outside, above and 
below the obstacle, either to force it down toward the 
stomach or to bring it up toward the mouth. The latter 
result having been obtained, the tongue should be gently 
withdrawn by the left hand, while by introducing the right 
hand into the mouth, the foreign body may be grasped and 
removed. In such cases, the balling-iron is useful to keep 
the mouth open. 

If these measures fail, recourse should be had to the 
probang, to push the obstructing body down into the stom- 
ach. In using this instrument, it will be necessary to have 
the head and neck held in a straight line by one or two 
assistants. The tongue must be gently withdrawn from the 
mouth, and the probang, having been previously well 
smeared with oil or butter, cautiously passed down into 
the gullet. On resistance being met with, gentle and con- 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 219 

tinual pressure may be employed, under the influence of 
which the foreign body will generally, in a short time, pass 
down. 

Bran and other dry food is sometimes impacted in the 
gullet, but the treatment above mentioned applies as well 
in these cases. After an animal has been successfully 
relieved from choking, it should be fed on gruel and sim- 
ilar sloppy food for a week afterward, as the gullet may 
have become more or less bruised by the removal of the 
obstruction. Choking in horses is comparatively rare as 
compared to that of cattle. 

VIII. Hemorrhage. — Hemorrhages from deep or 
lacerated wounds, or from the cutting or rupture of mod- 
erate arteries, have far less morbid power in horses and 
cattle than in the human subject, and often are attended 
with no danger whatever in the former when they would be 
fatal in the latter; for, in consequence of the elasticity of 
the external tunic, the ends of the cut or ruptured vessels 
retract within the cellular substance and close their orifices, 
and the flow of blood, though at first copious and alarming, 
soon becomes slow, and eventually forms a coagulum, or 
clot, which plugs up the wound and prevents all further 
flow. Yet hemorrhage in cattle and horses may frequently 
be serious enough to make a great reduction of both con- 
dition and strength; and in every case, therefore, it ought, 
with all possible speed, to be artificially stopped. 

Remedial applications to stay bleeding are called 
styptics, such as flour, puff-balls, alum, copperas, and other 
finely pulverized or powerfully astringent or corrosive sub- 
stances, and where they are applicable in the form of 
powder or in that of lotion, act by coagulating the blood; 
but although these means may be successfully employed in 
cases of emergency in smaller animals, they have little or 
no effect upon a hemorrhage of either horse or ox. Com- 



230 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

pression, by means of a dossil of lint, or a pledget of tow, 
or a piece of soft sponge, made fast with a bandage, is 
often effectual in any ordinary case of hemorrhage, and is 
particularly suitable when the place of discharge is beyond 
the reach of more special manipulation; and even when 
the application but partially closes the bleeding orifice, it 
may occasion the speedy formation of a firm clot upon the 
whole. The passing of a ligature of waxed silk or thin 
twine round the bleeding vessel is still more successful; 
and this may be effected by means of a so-called tenacu- 
lum, or of any small hooked instrument which can lay hold 
of the vessel and draw it a little from its place; or it may 
be effected by seizing the ends of the vessel with a pair of 
small forceps; or, in the least practicable cases, it may be 
managed by taking up some of the flesh or cellular mem- 
brane in two or three places round the vessel with a 
crooked needle having a waxed silk thread attached to it, 
and closing the included vessel by the constriction of the 
ligature upon the flesh. The instrument called a tourni- 
quet is seldom applicable to the horse; yet, in the form of 
twisted ligature, it may sometimes be advantageously used 
in cases of wounds in the extremities. The cautery, or 
hot iron, may be applied when a bleeding artery or vein is 
not broken or cut asunder, for it readily stops the hem- 
orrhage, either by searing up the the tubular cavity of the 
vessel or by plugging up the orifice with coagulum; but 
it ought to be applied at such temperature as merely to 
sear the part and not destroy its vitality, for a part made 
dead by it will afterward drop off so as to reopen the ori- 
fice and renew the hemorrhage. Yet, in the horse, the 
seemingly mischievous act of completely separating a par- 
tially divided artery will stop the hemorrhage, for the ends 
of the separated vessel retract within the cellular substance 
and close up their orifices with coagulum. But when a large 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



221 



vein is divided, it requires to be secured by one ligature 
above and by another below; and even when any very 
large artery is divided, both ends should, in prudence, if 
not in necessity, be secured with ligatures. 




PART XVI 



SOME DISEASES AND DISABILITIES REQUIR- 
ING EXTENDED PRESENTATION. 



Heaves, or Broken-Wind. — Broken-wind presents 
considerable resemblance to thick-wind, and is often pre- 
ceded or immediately caused by that disease; and thick- 
wind and broken-wind jointly produce a gradation of dis- 
tressing symptoms to which horsemen have given a series 
of expressive though inelegant designations. Some horses, 
when very fat, or when violently worked on a full stomach, 
suffer injurious pressure of the stomach upon the lungs, 
emit grunting sounds like those of a hog, and are popu- 
larly called grunters. Some, more from obstructions in 
the nose than from disease in the lungs, puff, blow, and 
violently distend their nostrils whenever they are more 
than very moderately exercised; and these are called high- 
blowers. Some, from contraction in the windpipe or the 
larynx, whenever they are for some time smartly exercised, 
emit a disagreeably shrill sound, and soon become greatly 
distressed; and these are designated whistlers. Some, 
when suffering with bronchitis, or when permanently afflicted 
with thick-wind, emit, at all times, a sound somewhat sim- 
ilar to that emitted by an asthmatic human subject when 
under slight exertion; and these are designated wheezers. 
Some, from permanent disease in the lungs, when worked 
into more than their usual rate of breathing by a little 
labor, emit a louder and harder noise than that of the 
wheezers, and are popularly designated roarers; and some 

(222) 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 223 

of this latter class, owing to contraction in the small 
passages of the lungs, emit a strong, shrill sound in quick 
breathing, and are designated pipers. But truly broken- 
winded horses are in a far more diseased condition, and 
exhibit much more distressing symptoms, than any of 
these classes. 

A cough of a peculiar kind precedes and accompanies 
broken-wind. It usually begins in the form of a common 
cough; yet, in many instances, is not observed in its com- 
mencement or its early stages. It afterward becomes 
chronic, and is accompanied with the symptoms of thick- 
wind, and eventually assumes a short, guttural, grunting 
character, so decidedly peculiar to broken-wind that a 
professional horseman or horse-dealer is instantly apprized 
by it alone of the existence of this disease. The mere 
breathing of a broken-winded horse, also, is both distressing 
and peculiar, and exhibits the remarkable phenomenon of 
two acts of expelling the air for every act of inhaling 
it. The inspiration is both quicker and more labored than 
in a healthy animal; and the expiration is prolonged, elab- 
orate, and painful to both lungs and abdomen. In the first 
of the two efforts of expiration, the usual muscles operate, 
and in the other the auxiliary muscles, particularly the 
abdominal, are put on the stretch to complete the expulsion 
more perfectly; and that being done, the flank falls, or the 
abdominal muscles relax with a kind of jerk or spasm. A 
sudden falling of the flanks indicates that the air is very 
readily inhaled; and a long-continued exertion of the ab- 
dominal muscles shows that it is slowly and with great 
difficulty expelled. 

Though the lungs of a broken-winded horse are larger 
than their natural size, they appear to acquire the chief 
feature of their disease from a ruptured condition of some 
of their air-cells. Numerous air-bladders are often noticed 



224 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

on the surface of the lungs after death, and these must 
have arisen from a rupture of some of the air-cells; for in 
that case some part of the air which is inspired will neces- 
sarily get into the cellular membrane of the lungs, and dif- 
fuse itself until it arrives at the surface of the lungs, when 
it will raise the pleura so as to form the air-bladders which 
we observe. 

One cause of broken-wind is constitutional or hereditary 
tendency to contract inflammatory affections. Another 




Relative Situations of some Internal Organs. (After Mayhew.) 

1. The lungs. 2. The stomach. .3. The colon. 4. The diaphragm. 

5. The situation of the bladder. 

cause is the peculiar kind of organic conformation, such as 
narrowness of chest or fragility of membrane, which offers 
most resistance to a free expansion and a full play of the 
lungs. Another cause, or rather introduction and almost 
begun formation, is the disease of thick-wind. A fourth 
cause is plethora, or fullness of habit, occasioning an undue 
determination of blood to the lungs, an increase of the 
secretions within the air-vessels, and perhaps the produc- 
tion of acrimoniousness and viscidity in these secretions. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 225 

But a more frequent cause than any, and one which reflects 
much censure upon owners and keepers of horses, is violent 
exercise while the stomach is distended with water, but 
especially with dry food. Horses that are greedy feeders, 
or devour large quantities of slightly nutritious food, or are 
worked with a stomach distended by this food, are very 
subject to broken-wind. More depends upon the manage- 
ment of the food and exercise than is generally supposed. 
The agricultural horse is too often fed on the very refuse 
of the farm, and his hours of feeding and his hours of 
work are frequently irregular; and the carriage-horse, 
although fed on more nutritious food, is often summoned 
to work by his capricious master the moment his meal is 
devoured. A rapid gallop on a full stomach has often 
produced broken-wind. 

A thorough knowledge of the nature and the causes of 
broken-wind is of great importance to every farmer; for, 
while the disease is both very common and very serious, the 
only effective means of dealing with it is prevention. 
Broken-wind might, in the great majority of instances, be 
fully and easily prevented, but when once formed it can 
never be cured; yet, in all its ordinary forms, it may be 
considerably alleviated. When a horse appears to be in its 
first stages, he maybe given laxative medicine; and at all 
subsequent periods he should be regularly exercised, care- 
fully fed, and sedulously protected from costiveness, and 
especially from violent exertion. He ought to receive 
water only in small quantities, yet so often as five or six 
times a day. He must never feed on such light and dis- 
tensive matter as chaff or coarse hay; he may receive 
sparing quantities of oats and bran; he may eat somewhat 
freely of any kind of succulent food, particularly carrots; 
he may, m five days, be turned to grass; otherwise, he must 
be kept in a clean, well-ventilated stable, free from all foul 

15 



226 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

litter and ammonial vapors; and he ought, above all things, 
to have regular and long-continued exercise, and, at the 
same time, to be carefully kept from all such exertion as 
would, for even the briefest period, stimulate the action of 
the lungs. 

II, Neurotomy, — By neurotomy, or nerving, the 
nerves of any extreme part of an animal are divided, in 
order to destroy the pain of a severe or laming disease in 
the region with which they communicate. The name, how- 
ever, has hitherto been mainly applied to the dividing of 
the metacarpal or plantar nerves, as a remedy for laming 
diseases in the foot of the horse. When the nerves above 
the fetlock-joint are divided, all sensation in the foot is de- 
stroyed, and when the nerves below the fetlock are divided, 
a portion of the sensation in the foot. The dividing of 
the nerves above, therefore, is suitable in cases of lameness 
from severe quarter-crack, quittor, ringbone, and ossified 
cartilages, and the dividing of the nerves below is suitable 
in cases of lameness from contraction, navicular disease, 
capsular disease, punctures of the sole, and in tetanus, or 
lock-jaw, from injuries of the foot. The dividing of the 
nerve on only the affected side is sufficient in cases of 
quarter-crack, quittor, and ossification on only one carti- 
lage, but the dividing of the nerve on both sides is requisite 
in all other cases. When the desired effect in the 
destruction of sensation is contemplated or thought desir- 
able or needful for only a short time, the mere separating 
of the nerve, or nerves, is sufficient; but when this effect 
is contemplated or desired for a considerable period, a 
portion of the nerve, or nerves, varying in length from half 
an inch to an inch, according to circumstances, must be 
cut away, for the ends of a simply divided nerve commonly 
unite again in less than two months, so as then to restore 
sensation. But neurotomy in any form is unsuited to 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 227 

cases of founder, convex soles, or pumiced feet. The oper- 
ation may be a proper one in many cases; but the question 
may be asked, ** Can the horse that has undergone the 
operation of neurotomy be afterward considered as 
sound?" In all candor, the reply must be that he can not 
be so regarded." There is altered, impaired structure; 
there is impaired action, and there is the possibility of 
the return of lameness at some indefinite period. He has 
been diseased; he possibly is diseased now; but the pain 
being removed, there is no means by which the mischief 
can always be indicated. Besides, by the very act of 
neurotomy, he is peculiarly exposed to various injuries and 
affections of the foot from which he would otherwise escape. 

III. Interfering Horses. — Many horses are in the 
habit of striking with one leg against another, and much 
of ingenuity has been exercised to provide a remedy for 
the troublesome practice. Both the fore and hind legs are 
subject to it, the latter, perhaps, most frequently; but in 
them it is confined to the fetlock-joint, whereas in the fore- 
legs the horse may hit either the fetlock, the leg just 
above the pastern, or just under the knee, where it is called 
a speedy cut, from its occurring chiefly in fast action. 

It is desirable before applying a remedy to ascertain, 
if possible, the cause, and the part which strikes, whether 
the shoe or the foot, and, if the latter, what part of it. 
Many horses strike from weakness, and cease to do so when 
they gain strength and condition. This is more particularly 
the case with young horses. Others cut from a faulty 
conformation of the limbs, which are sometimes too close 
to each other. Again, the toe is turned too much out or in. 
When turned in, the strike is usually just under the knee. 

The objects to be kept in view in shoeing such horses 
must be to remedy the faulty action, and to remove, if 
possible, the part which strikes, which is generally that 



328 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

portion of the foot between the toe and the inside quarter, 
sometimes the inside quarter itself, but very rarely the 
heels of the shoe. If the horse turns his toe in, in all 
probability he wears the inside of the shoe most; if so, it 
should be made much thicker than the outside; if the con- 
trary, the outside heel should be the thicker. The shoe 
should be leveled off on the inside quarter, which should 
also be free from nails. 

In the hind-legs, we often find a three-quarter shoe will 
prevent striking when other plans fail; for here the striking 
part is not so far forward as in the fore-legs, so that the 
removal of the iron altogether from the inside quarter will 
often accomplish the aim. It sometimes happens that no 
plan will prevent interfering, and then the only recourse is 
the boot or the pad. 

IV. Some Disorders of the Horse's Mouth. — 

The mouth is subject to certain affections, arising either from 
sympathy with other organs or from accidental causes; and 
disease may also extend from the inorganic structures of the 
organ to parts which are contiguous to them, and which 
are known to be endowed with much sensibility. 

Lampas is a term used to signify a swelling of the pal- 
ate or gums at the part in contact with or near to the front 
teeth, or incisors. It is generally found to occur in young 
horses, and, most likely, has more to do with teething than 
is generally admitted. Its treatment, so far as regards the 
swelling, is very simple, as the use of the lancet is all that 
is required. By merely scarifying the part, a copious flow 
of blood will sometimes be obtained, which to animals in 
high condition will have a most beneficial effect; the use of 
laxative medicine and succulent food should, at the same 
time, not be forgotten. 

Deciduous, or wolves' teeth, or, as they are sometimes 
called, eye-teeth, occuring in some horses, are situated in 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 22d 

close iipproximation with the first molar teeth of the u[:)per 
jaw. There is no foundation for the behef that their pres- 
ence has any relation to diseases of the eye. Their pres- 
ence does no harm or inconvenience to the horse unless, 
as they sometimes do, they deviate from their normal 
straight position and lean to one side, when, if they at 
the same time happen to be very pointed, they may 
wound the tongue or the cheek; in which case they may be 
easily removed with a pair of small pincers. 

Caries of the teeth, although occurring but seldom 
in the horse, requires attention. The symptoms are quid- 
ding and a seeming dislike to masticate food, arising, no 
doubt, from acute pain in the act. Sometimes there will be 
a disagreeable odor emitted from the mouth, but this will 
much depend upon the stage of the disease; there will also 
be a staring coat and a general look of languor. It may 
become necessary to remove such teeth, for which purpose 
special instruments are used. 

The loss of one or more of the front teeth sometimes 
occurs. This arises from the improper use the animal 
sometimes makes of them, from accident, or from the 
brutal usage which the animal gets at the hands of those 
whose interest it should be to keep him perfect as long as 
they possibly can. Such an animal is found not to do well 
when turned out in the grass-field; for the chief agents in 
the act of nipping being removed, he can not obtain his food 
with the facility which he otherwise would were they present. 

Some of the symptoms mentioned accompany other 
diseases of the mouth, but are not of so serious a char- 
acter as the last named; thus in old animals we have quid- 
ding, arising from inequalities of the teeth or a ragged 
state of their edges. This may be remedied by using a 
tooth-rasp; but sometimes other instruments are required 
for this purpose. 



230 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

The mouth is sometimes injured by the bit or the curb 
from (in many instances) the unnecessary violence made 
use of in getting the animal "to a mouth," as it is called. 
In such cases, by removing the existing cause the effects 
produced will soon subside. There are some horses which 
are found to have contracted the habit of hanging back when 
tied in the usual manner to the manger, rack, or any other 
place. It is a most unpleasant habit, and is sometimes the 
cause of very great injury to the mouth, but often also to 
the tongue. When, from neglect or otherwise, the rein or 
halter is left in the mouth, we have seen the tongue nearly 
severed at about from four to six inches from its apex; 
but the precise cause of this injury is generally involved in 
obscurity, nobody having the smallest idea (or at least so 
they pretend) as to the cause of the mischief. 

Aphthse, or thrush, is an affection of the mouth of the 
horse and other animals, and arises from indigestion or the 
eating of acrid plants. If the first, it is generally accom- 
panied by constipation of the bowels, small red spots upon 
the buccal membrane, and especially that part about the 
tongue. If vesicles are found, they may be carefully scari- 
fied, after which may be used, several times daily, injec- 
tions into the mouth of a portion of an astringent lotion 
made of vinegar, honey, and borax, or alum. 

V. Means of Preserving the Horse's Feet. — 

Most people who have had anything to do with the 
care of horses will have noticed that while being shod 
the surface of the sole of the horse's feet is generally as 
hard as a slate — so hard, in fact, that no knife can pene- 
trate it — and that the smith has to use a toe-knife and 
hammer. It is even the custom with many smiths to hold 
a hot iron to the surface of the sole, or to place hot cinders 
upon the sole for about half a minute, which has the effect 
of temporarily softening it, when he instantly pares off the 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



^31 



surface. In many feet, we also observe an extreme brittle- 
ness, or shortness of fibre, of the hoof for the space of an 
inch or an inch and a half at the bottom circumference of 
the wall. Now it may be proper here to discuss: Why is 
this hardness of the sole and brittleness of the wail? 



INCLINATIONS OF THE PASTERNS. 





A Long and Slanting Pastern. 



A Natural Pastern. 





An Upright Pastern. An Overshot Pastern. 

(After Mayhew.) 

(a.) Hardness of the Sole of the Foot. — The opinion we 
have always entertained is that it was referable to the arti- 
ficial state the feet are kept in, consequent upon domestica- 



232 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

tion, working upon hard roads, and standing on a dry 
floor. It is a very frequent thing to hear horsemen recom- 
mend stopping the feet (especially the fore-feet) with cow- 
dung, or some such material, so as to enable the sole to 
absorb a degree of moisture and render it somewhat softer 
and more elastic, thus, as they will say, to some extent, at 
least, allowing an approach to a state of nature. With all 
due regard for their good intentions, we beg to state that 
they are deceiving themselves upon this point, for this 
hardness of the sole is referable to other causes than those 
above named. The fact is, nature has provided for her- 
self, and there is really a sufficient amount of moisture in 
the horny sole to keep it supple and pliant under all cir- 
cumstances, if only we will not interfere with it. Now, it 
has been the custom of nearly all writers to urge the neces- 
sity of thinning the sole until it will spring under the 
thumb; this is the interference of which we speak — this is 
the mistake. We are quite satisfied of this, that when cut- 
ting into the body of the sole we are cutting away horn 
that is not ripe, if we may be allowed the expression; by 
doing this, it appears to us we are exposing the living 
horny tissues unnaturally, and nature seems to make an 
effort to repair the damage by supplying horn of a harder 
texture; or this condition of the sole may in part be due to 
excess of evaporation or exhalation out of the exposed sole, 
and no care in stopping the feet can adequately repair the 
injury or supply the defect. 

(d.) Brittleness of Hoof. — It has often been a question 
that has puzzled us not a little, how it is that feet which 
have been in the habit of being shod for some time, if they 
cast a shoe and have to travel a mile or two upon the road 
without it, or even when left at grass a day or two without 
one, how the lower circumference of the wall chips off and 
breaks up; whereas feet that have never been shod, or not 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 283 

been shod for six months past, can travel barefoot on the 
road, or be at grass for months together without shoes, 
without the feet chipping or breaking up. Why is this.? 
Upon what does this difference in texture depend ? We 
have pondered the question much, have discussed it with 
many intelligent, practical, and experienced men, and the 
conclusion we have arrived at is this: that the deteriorated 
texture of the wall is not consequent upon any influence 
the iron shoe imparts to the wall, neither is it the result of 
jarring and concussion of the horn fibres for a certain dis- 
tance up the wall, but it is purely and simply a condition of 
horn resulting from the outside skin or shell being removed 
from the wall by rasping; the pores of the horn are laid 
bare and exposed, excessive evaporation or exhalation fol- 
lows, this in conjunction with an effort of nature to repair 
the dam^age by forming harder horn, consisting of less 
elastic texture. We know that this idea is pooh-poohed by 
many who never think it worth their while to reflect upon 
the facts in the case. Many shoers are so anxious to turn 
out their work, not only practically well, but highly finished, 
especially on fine carriage or road horses, that they will not 
only rasp, but smoothly file and sand-paper, the whole wall 
of the hoof, and then finish off by rubbing and polishing 
with a composition of linseed-oil, bees-wax and tar-oil. 
However, by this course we have found to our satisfaction 
that the brittleness of the hoof increased more and more. 

In summing up the whole matter, we will say, simply 
remove the exfoliating or detached flakes of horn from 
the sole; level it passably, and do not pare into the living 
horn of the sole. Only rasp off all flakes around the 
extreme circumference or edge of the sole; shorten the toe, 
lower the heels, and be careful not to rasp, scratch, or 
wound in the least the delicate natural covering or skin 
of the wall of the foot, only so far as pierced by the nails. 



234 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

VI. Care of the Horse's Hoofs. — Under the 
influence of dry heat, the hoof becomes hard, brittle, and 
reduced in size, but it does not, however, undergo this 
physical change in a sudden or marked manner unless 
other circumstances occur to contribute to it. The hoof 
is united to the subjacent tissue by an infinity of small pro- 
longations, which yield to pressure by the imbibing of 
moisture — apt to be lost by ordinary evaporation; but if 
the crust or wall of the hoof has lost its thickness, or, on 
the other hand, the outer covering has been removed by 
rasping the feet up to the hair, by which the wall is 
rendered more permeable, and if, besides these causes, the 
animal has been standing inactive on dry litter, experience 
and observation prove that in a very short time the hoof 
will become dry and contracted. This modification in the 
form and size of the hoof determines, first, pressure on the 
parts, and afterward lameness. It is, therefore, objection- 
able to place animals on those conditions which cause them 
to lose the moisture of their hoofs. If it is impossible to 
put horses which are devoted to the service of the rich 
otherwise than on dry litter, it would be easy to wash their 
feet once a day, at least, with clean water. 

Injudicious rasping is practiced too frequently by the 
blacksmith, and it is the custom to replace the outer cover- 
ing so injudiciously removed with an ointment, so as to 
prevent and oppose the evaporation of moisture. Grease 
is generally employed as an impermeable substance, but 
it is a bad agent; besides, it does not soften the dry crust, 
and by penetrating into the nail-holes compromises the 
security of the shoes, and when rancid it acts as an irritant 
to the coronary ligament. Alkaline substances, such as 
soda, potash, and ammonia, possess the property of 
softening the hoof and of disuniting its elements. The 
knowledge of this fact shows at once the mistake of allow- 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 335 

ing horses to stand in wet, or dung impregnated with the 
ammonia of the urine, or in the barn-yard covered with a 
thick layer of manure. The moisture thus imbibed is 
loaded with ammonia, or the elements which constitute it, 
and which, by their alkaline properties, soften the horn, 
dissolve also that of the sole and frog, and cause ulcera- 
tion. The new horn is dissolved almost as soon as formed, 
and the irritating fluid, acting on the denuded parts, 
causes, ultimately, a sort of fungous growth. It is evident 
from these facts that cow or horse dung ought not to be 
used for stopping the feet, or for poulticing. In preference, 
when there is an indication for restoring the lost moisture 
of the horn of the feet, use clay, linseed poultice, or clean 
water. 

In conclusion, to preserve the horse's feet in as healthy 
a state as possible, it is necessary, first, to have good shoe- 
ing; second, to avoid the paring or rasping of the feet in 
the too common ruinous fashion; third, to keep the feet 
and legs clean; fourth, to abstain from trimming the hairs 
off the legs in winter; fifth, to wash the feet every day 
with clean water; sixth, to allow the horse moderate work 
or exercise, and seventh, when the outer delicate and 
glossy covering is accidentally destroyed, to replace it by 
some impermeable agent. 

VII. Remarks about Horse-shoes and Horse- 
shoeing. — The shape or form of a shoe has very little in- 
fluence on the functions of a horse's foot, the objects to be 
gained by any particular pattern being that it is light, will 
wear a month at least, not likely to be pulled off, and re- 
quiring few nails to retain it. But the methods of prepar- 
ing the foot and applying the shoe, as generally carried 
out, interfere greatly with the healthy state and functions 
of the foot. In removing the old shoe prior to the horse 
being newly shod, each nail ought to be drawn by the 



236 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



pincers independently, and the shoe not torn off, as is 
usually the case. The shoe being removed, the smith sat- 





The Hoof. 

A. Outer surface of crust. 

B. Inner surface of crust. 

C. Upper surface of sole. 

D. Part corresponding with the 

cleft of the frog. 

E. Coronary band. 



Front View of the Foot, 
with the Hoof removed. 

A. Coronary substance. 

B. Laminae. 



isfies himself as to the obliquity of the foot, which is 
readily done by allowing the horse to 
stand on a level floor, and himself retir- 
ing a few paces, so as to obtain a view 
of the angle formed by the front of 
the foot and the surface on which the 
foot stands. This angle should be about 
fifty degrees. If the obliquity is 
greater, or if, in other words, the angle 
be less than fifty degrees, a portion of 
the crust round the toe only and on the 

The Under Surface of ground-surface should be removed. 

the Foot Should the obliquity be correct, and 

A. Cleft of frog. ^^ j^ ^ Superabundance of crust, it 

B B. Sole. ^ 

c. Cleft between heels, should be removed by rasping and 
judicious even paring from toe to heel. When too great 
an obliquity exists, it is owing to the heels having been 




THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK.. 237 

pared or rasped more than the toe. Very few horses 
require any of the horn removed beyond what is done in 
fitting the shoe; the more horn there is below the sensitive 
parts, the less mischief nails do. By leaving sufficient horn, 
the nails are far removed from the sensitive laminae. It is 
not absolutely necessary for a nail to penetrate the sensi- 
tive laminse to cause mischief; for if the nail approaches it, 
the horn which becomes displaced presses upon the 
laminae and causes considerable pain on a membrane so 
highly sensitive. When the fitting of the shoe is com- 
pleted, it may be made sufficiently warm to make for itself 
a seating or bed, so as to insure the foot and the shoe hav- 
ing two planes as near as can be obtained. This can be 
done without destroying the texture of the adjacent horn. 
The crust which is thus removed, and by the previous 
operation of fitting the shoe, is generally found sufficient 
in working-horses to reduce the foot to a healthy size. 
The outer wall should under no pretense be rasped; the 
clinch should be simply knocked down, and not let into the 
crust by making a line with the rasp. Should any portion 
of horn project after the shoe is applied, it should on 
no account be rasped away, but left. If this is strictly 
adhered to, the hoof will not become brittle or split, and a 
shoe rarely, if ever, lost. The sole of the foot should be 
pared very little, and only so much as to prevent bruising by 
the shoe; nor should the frog be trimmed unless very ragged, 
and the ragged portions likely to collect and retain dirt and 
moisture, then the dead portions only should be cut off; 
but when a frog is not interfered with, but allowed to 
receive a due amount of pressure, it will be found fully 
developed in a short space of time. To recapitulate: Allow 
no paring or rasping that is not absolutely necessary; have 
plenty of horn left in which to drive the nails; use only 
small nails; do not allow them to be driven higher than 



238 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

three-quarters of an inch, and have a light shoe made of 
good material. Prevent your horse from always standing 
upon an inclined floor vi^hen in the stable. Do not have 
his feet stopped, but merely washed. There is no necessity 
for the sole being soft, as the horse stands upon an arch, 
and is supported by the crust or wall. See that these simple 
rules are strictly carried out, and your horse will bring you 
safely over the roughest of roads, and will not be contin- 
ually in pain when in motion. 

VIII. Wounds in the Feet. — These wounds are 
dangerous according to the parts of the foot injured. 
Wounds in the anterior third are generally simple; and 
even when the bone itself is injured, there is not very much 
to fear. Wounds in the posterior third are also generally 
simple, unless, as seldom happens, the lateral cartilages 
should be implicated. Wounds in the medium portion of 
the foot are the most dangerous, from their liability to 
injure the foot-joints or the synovial sheath of the perforans 
tendon. The commonest place for the entrance of nails is 
generally at the side of the frog, about one to two inches 
from its point. 

The symptoms are, in addition to great lameness and 
heat of the foot, much febrile disturbance and quick pulse; 
rapid breathing and sweating may be expected when we 
consider the nature of the part injured, its vascularity and 
sensitiveness, and its being confined in the hard, unyielding 
hoof. To form a correct diagnosis at the beginning and 
in the course of these injuries, we would suggest that the 
following things be particularly noticed: Degree of pain, 
position, depth and direction of the wound, the character 
of the discharge, and the complications in the coronary 
region. Let us suppose a case implicating the synovial 
sheath of the tendon. The first thing to be done toward 
treatment is to get the animal into a well-littered box-stall 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



339 



— thus to tempt him to lie down as much as possible; then 
remove all the shoes, that on the injured foot last. The 
sole must then be well pared, not only just around the 
wound, but the whole sole, until it yields to gentle press- 
ure. The wall, too, should be lowered in proportion. 

In many injuries of the feet, we are averse to paring the 
sole; for, in some cases, paring to a large extent is apt to 
change the relative position 
of the wall and cofifin-bone, 
as in laminitis, or founder. 
In the case instanced above, 
there is, however, no such 
danger, as there is never any 
weight thrown on the foot, 
the excessive pain causing 
the animal to be constantly 
holding it up. 

There are cases in which 
local bleeding would do 
good; but as it would pre- 
vent the immediate use of 
what we place greater reli- 
ance on, namely, f omenta- ^- Ossuffraginis. 5. Frog. 

.• c A. ■ 2. Oscoronae. 6. Sole, 

tions, we prefer to give a 3. Pedalbone. 7. Wallorcrust, 

dose of physic. After poul- 4. Navicular bone. greatly thickened. 

tices have been used for two or three days, bulging of a 
fungoid nature will be noticed round the wound of the 
sole, but more especially of the frog, with probably a dis- 
charge of synovia. This relieves the pain considerably, as 
shown by the abatement of the fever and the animal eating 
a little. 

By continuing the poulticing for two or three days, 
more swelling of the coronet follows, and probably one or 
two circumscribed swellings, denuded of hair, will be vis- 




Section of the Foot in Confirmed 
Laminitis. 



•no THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

ible on the posterior part of the coronet. The falling off 
of hair we have always found to long precede the breaking 
of the skin. At this stage, we stop the poultices and apply 
a smart blister round the coronet, and use astringent dress- 
ings to the wound in the sole, binding them well on. The 
swellings, some days after the blister, will point and break 
naturally, discharging blood and serum with a portion of 
synovia, the flow of the synovia continuing. There is 
always a certain amount of sloughing when these abscesses 
break. Small abscesses of the same character, and at 
various parts of the coronet, will form and break out for 
probably a week or two. To check the flow of synovia, 
we use a mixture of sulphate of zinc and sulphate of iron, 
in equal parts, applying a portion as a plug over each 
orifice, carefully binding it on with a bandage, and not 
removing the bandage for three days. When abscesses 
have ceased forming, and the sores have healed up, 
another blister may be applied with benefit. 

The animal will now be able to put the foot to the 
ground and bear some weight on it. We would then, 
if seasonable, turn him out to grass daily. If the wound 
on the sole has not healed up, nor the flow of synovia been 
checked, apply a strong ointment of tar and nitric acid, 
repeating it until healthy horn forms and the flow of 
synovia ceases. 

When new horn begins to grow down from the coronet, 
it will be found to project over the old, giving the wall 
that existed before the injury the appearance of having 
shrunk considerably. This is caused by the thickening of 
the coronary band and the various tissues surrounding the 
coffin-joint, from inflammatory action. The animal will 
probably be very lame, even after all the wounds have 
healed up; but when the effects of the last blister have 
passed away, firing may be used, if considered necessary. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE DOOK. 241 

A week after firing, the animal may be turned out to grass. 
Examine the foot occasionally, and dress it with hoof-oint- 
ment, to expedite the growth of the new horn. 

To get the animal useful, we should not always wait 
till he is free from all lameness, as experience has taught 
us that we expedite soundness by putting the animal to 
work and keeping him at it. The forced action of the foot 
while thus at work hastens the absorption of the organized 
material thrown out (which is the cause of swelling round 
the coronet), and thereby brings the coronet to its original 
form. When the navicular bone has become implicated, as 
it frequently does, lameness exists for a considerable time, 
but the animal may be used for slow work on soft ground. 

We may here state that there is often much bother 
from what we should term bed-sores (sores on various parts, 
such as the shoulder, elbow, stifle, point of the hip, etc.), 
from the animal lying a great deal of the time on one side; 
and generally when he falls down in the early stage of his 
disease, it is with some violence. Abscesses may even 
form at some of these places. If the animal is able to 
move, and if seasonable, we prefer a soft old land grass- 
field to turn him into, in which he will lie down readily. 
He receives less harm in this than in the stable on bedding, 
however plentiful it may be. 

When the cofifin-joint has been the immediate seat of 
injury, death in four to ten days is inevitable. In such 
cases, it would be an act of mercy to destroy the animal at 
once. 

IX. Signs and Symptoms of Navicular Dis- 
ease. — Navicular disease develops slowly and gradually, 
and without any striking symptoms. At first the horse 
will slightly favor the affected foot, fearing to tread hard 
upon it, whereby his movements become more or less 
safe, or stumbling. These incipient signs of the ailment 
le 



243 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

become less apparent during limited use, slow work, or on 
soft ground, but more so in the trot, and upon hard, 
uneven, or stony road. When at rest, or when standing in 
the stable, the affected foot is extended forward of its 
fellow, but so that the fetlock and pastern joints are not 
fully stretched, and rather slightly flexed, whereby the heel 
or quarters of the foot are either slightly raised from the 
ground or do not rest firmly on the ground. (In lameness 
of the shoulder or elbow, the foot is either slightly extended 
only, and resting flatly or more firmly on the ground, or 
else the horse will stand with the knee and lower joints 
flexed and the foot resting on the toe more or less back of 
a line with the heel of the other foot.) 

From time to time, the horse with navicular disease 
will lift the extended foot in a feeling, careful way, and 
again let it down where it stood, whereby the lower joints 
appear slightly knuckling over. A stronger pulsation at 
the lower part of the limb is not always present, nor will 
there always be an increase of heat perceptible, though it 
may at times be more or less perceptible about the quarters 
of the foot. Sometimes an increased fullness of the coro- 
net may be present. Strong pressure with the shoeing- 
pincers upon the quarters generally causes such horse to 
evince pain, but this will also be the case when there is a 
corn, or when the heel is low, or the wall of the hoof is 
naturally thin. When the frog is included together with 
the quarters in the grasp of the pincers, the horse will be 
more apt to evince sensitiveness or pain, which may indi- 
cate the existence of navicular disease, provided that the 
frog is sound and not affected with thrush or canker. 

In the course of time, but generally not before several 
months have elapsed, the lameness will increase percepti- 
bly, and by slow degrees the space between the quarters of 
the hoof will become narrower; or, in other words, the hoof 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 243 

will become more or less contracted, the sinking in of the 
wall beginning just below the coronet, while the sole will 
appear as if more or less drawn up or concave, and the 
frog will shrink correspondingly. The foot will look nar- 
row at the heel, and if only one of the fore-feet is diseased, 
the contraction of the affected foot will become more 
noticeable by comparing the size and shape of this foot 
with its fellow. In chronic cases of navicular disease, there 
may also be more or less wasting of the muscles, or 
so-called sweeny, of the arm and shoulder, and sometimes 
more or less distinct rings 
around the wall of the 
hoof, which latter, however, 
may also appear in conse- 
quence of laminitis, or so- 
called founder. 

Much difficulty in diag- 
nosing a case of navicular 

disease is often met with, The Foot is dragged in shoulder Lameness. 

especially where the size and shape of hoof are not 
much changed, where no signs of the generally passive 
inflammation are noticeable, especially when both fore- 
feet are equally less affected, and where, as in many 
chronic cases, the lameness is not very pronounced. The 
fact of a horse standing with one foot extended, or 
" pointing," as it is termed, must not be considered a posi- 
tive sign of lameness or disease of that limb or foot, for 
there are horses who will point from habit, and without any 
disease or lameness existing in that foot; but such habitual 
pointing will, as a rule, be found co-existing with the 
pointing of a hind-foot, which he would not do in the case 
of lameness of a fore-foot. 

As in the case of shoulder lameness, so with navicular 
disease, the lameness becomes more distinct when the 




244: THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

horse is made to trot, but with the difference that the 
horse with the disease in the foot will show lameness most 
on hard or stony road, and very little, if any, on soft 
ground or a plowed field; whereas the horse that is lame 
in the shoulder or elbow will go equally lame on hard or on 
soft ground. In navicular disease, the lameness will gradu- 
ally diminish during continuance of exercise or driving, to 
again appear after a short rest. The horse with navicular 
disease hqs a peculiar tripping or short step, which pecul- 
iarity is commonly called grogginess. 

In obscure cases of lameness, we may suspect some 
bone disease, such as incipient ringbone, as the cause, if 
the horse stands level in the stall, but trots very lame on 
hard ground. Lameness decreases with exercise, except, 
as a rule, in cases of splint, ringbones, side-bones, sore 
shins, corns, chronic laminitis, or founder, villitis, and 
sprains. 

X. Abnormal Condition of the Teeth. — Dis- 
orders of the teeth occur frequently in colts between the 
ages of two and a half and four and a half years — the 
period for the temporary teeth to be changed for the per- 
manent — when they are very much out of condition, being, 
as it is termed, very lean on the ribs, and having long, 
harsh, and shaggy coats. Owners say they feed pretty 
well, but their food does them little good. Now, if the 
mouth be examined, the cause will, very probably, at once 
present itself. It is found very hot, and contains a large 
quantity of saliva, the result of irritation produced by 
dentition, which process, it is likely, has been perfected on 
one side, although the reverse is the case on the opposite; 
by which we mean that the temporary teeth on one side 
have been shed and their places supplied with permanent 
ones, while on the other the temporary remain fixed or are 
only partially displaced, adhering to the gum, perhaps, by 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 245 

one fang, leaving a portion unattached, and producing 
considerable irritation, also materially impeding the man- 
ducatory process. 

It will be requisite in this case to remove the shell by 
means of a pair of shell-tongs or forceps; also, if the shell 
or grinder be firmly attached, we must have recourse to the 
same expedient, supposing the process to have gone on 
properly on one side, and it is the period for the permanent 
to supplant the temporary tooth. We shall thus facilitate 
and expedite the development of the permanent tooth, and 
the animal will be enabled to masticate his food with more 
ease and more effectually. It may also be necessary to 
rasp the edges of the other grinders, which may have 
become morbidly sharp and pointed, the result of inefficient 
mastication. 

As it is generally early in the spring, when there is a 
deficiency of nutritious grass, that our attention is more 
generally directed to these cases, it is advisable to feed 
with bran and cut hay, which the animal will eat with less 
difficulty and less waste than uncut feed. In those becom- 
ing greatly emaciated, the administration of tonic medicine 
will prove very essential in restoring the lost tone and 
energy of the digestive organs. The important process of 
dentition is accompanied with much more marked effects 
upon the system in some colts than in others; and it is not 
an infrequent circumstance to observe, that out of several 
running together, one or two will do badly during this 
period, whilst the others will maintain a tolerable condition, 
yet all are receiving the like treatment. 

Morbid or exuberant growth exists in two forms. First, 
it is general, and confined to the borders or edges of the 
teeth — the outer edges of the upper molars and the inner 
of the lower. The upper teeth normally somewhat overlap 
the lower externally; consequently when the mouth is shut 



246 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

the outer edges of the upper and the inner of the lower 
are unopposed. Secondly, one or more of the dental 
organs may be increased in size to such an extent as to 
project considerably above the level of the rest; say an 
inch, more or less. Our attention is called to the first- 
mentioned class of cases when we notice a considerable 
quantity of unmasticated grain voided with the dung, and 
saliva secreted in an undue degree, evidenced by its drivel- 
ing from the animal's mouth. On examination, we shall 
find that there are numerous sharp projecting points 
extending from the unopposed edges of the molars, which 
have caused lacerations of the hning membrane of the 
cheeks, and probably, also, of that of the tongue. 

The treatment here is simple. We must at once remove 
the offending agents by means of the tooth-rasp, in the 
exercise of which we must be careful to effect our intentions 
with as little injury to the mouth as possible; for it is com- 
paratively rare that we do not bruise the mouth in a greater 
or less degree, this being dependent on the expertness of 
the operator and the tractability of the horse. For facilitat- 
ing the act of rasping, a so-called balling-iron is generally 
used. 

With regard to the cases in which we find one or more 
of the teeth projecting considerably above the level of the 
rest, bare inspection tells us that this state offers a far 
greater impediment to the proper and effectual trituration 
of the food than the preceding one; but we may readily 
obtain additional demonstration of the fact by giving the 
horse a small quantity of hay, when we shall perceive that 
he has the greatest difficulty in masticating it. He will, 
however, employ every possible means to do so. He turns 
his head from side to side, with a peculiar twisting action 
of the lower jaw, frequently forcing the mass by the action 
of the tongue to the bottom of the mouth, and as fre- 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 247 

quently passing it up again; until, at last, he lets it fall out, 
a roughly chewed mass, which is called a " quid," and the 
horse is called a **quidder." 

It is in consequence of these quids being found in his 
manger that the horse's mouth is suspected to be amiss, 
In this instance, the rasp is unavailable; but, having ascer- 
tained which is the offending tooth, we must have recourse 
to the tooth-shears, or to the various kinds of chisels made 
for such cases. 

XI. Diseases of the Horse's Teeth. — The dis 

eases of the horse's teeth, as well as the proper treatment 
of them, differ considerably from those of man. Feverish- 
ness, loss of appetite, diarrhea, and a number of other 
and widely dissimilar affections, either arising wholly from 
difficulty in dentition or more or less severely aggravated 
by it, are so frequent in young horses that whenever any 
of them occur, and are found on examination of the mouth 
to be accompanied with prominence and pushing of the 
tushes, a crucial incision ought to be made upon the gums. 
The grinders of horses more advanced in age are apt to 
become roughened in the edges, from irregular growth or 
from irregular wearing of the enamel, and may in this state 
give rise to bad ulcers in the mouth, and ought to be 
rasped smooth. Part or whole of a back tooth or other 
grinder sometimes grows to a higher level than the rest of 
the teeth, and penetrates the bars above it, causing serious 
ulceration, or interferes so constantly and ruinously with 
mastication as to occasion a general pining for want of due 
food; and whenever any such overgrowth is detected, it 
ought to be reduced to the level of the other teeth. A 
general irregularity in the surface of the grinders, though 
not marked by any very observable prominence in any one 
part, is sometimes so great as to occasion quidding, and to 
constitute great and almost incurable unsoundness. 



248 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

Caries, or rotting of the substance of the teeth, occurs 
more or less in all animals, but is peculiarly frequent and 
virulent in man, and especially so in those members of the 
human family who think themselves most highly civilized. 
One cause of this disease in man is the want of a due 
degree of dental action, occasioned by the luxuriousness or 
soft forms of food; another is the rapid and mighty whirl 
of chemical forces acting on the teeth, from the great 
diversity and rapid succession and piquant nature of the 
articles of diet; and a third, and chief, is the adherence to 
the teeth or their interstices of small particles of easily 
decomposable substances, such as flesh - meat or animal 
sauces, or almost any of the mixtures of the most-relished 
dishes. Decomposition of the particles is rapidly effected 
under the combined action of the heat and moisture of 
the mouth and the oxygen of the atmosphere, and an acid 
results which immediately attacks the phosphate of lime in 
the teeth, and after awhile so far accomplishes its decompo- 
sition as to bring the teeth to incipient decay. A little hole 
appears which henceforth constantly lets in the atmos- 
pheric air, the salivary secretions, and the decomposing 
particles of adhering food; and unless this hole is promptly 
stopped with some proper composition, a rapid decay of 
the entire tooth, on to its destruction, is inevitable. Caries, 
though incomparably rarer in the horse than in man, yet 
sometimes occurs with such virulence as not only to destroy 
one tooth, but to communicate the rotting to neighboring 
teeth, and even to the jaw. When a carious tooth is found 
in the horse's mouth, it should be extracted. 



PART XVII. 



DISEASES OF THE HEAD, BODY, AND 
INTERNAL ORGANS. 



Continuing the abstract of Doctor Paaren's writings in 
The Prairie Farmer, we come to a selection of the diseases 
pertaining to the head, body, internal organs, and viscera, 
as presented from time to time in its columns, and in answer 
to descriptions of diseases by farmers, breeders, and other 
horse-owners. 

I. Diseases of the Head. — («.) Glanders. — Glanders 
mainly affects the nose, gradually extending to the throat 
and the lungs. Pustules or blisters form 
in the lining membrane of the septum, 
or the wall separating the nasal cavities. 
Often these pustules are seen inside both 
nostrils, often only within one nostril, 
and then most frequently the left one. 
They break and leave small ulcers with 
uneven, inflamed, and thickened edges. 
These ulcers gradually increase in size 
and in number, and several of them The proof of Glanders, 
may run together and thus become very Pustules in the Nostrils, 
irregular in shape, with one or more deep depressions. 
Thus not only the nasal mucous membrane is destroyed, 
but also the nasal cartilage. There is also a discharge, first 
of a watery, thereafter of a clear, slimy, and later of vari- 
ously colored, gluey, or sticky secretion, having a tendency 
to dry and form dark crusts on the edge of the nostrils. 

(249) 




250 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

In the hollow of the lower jaw, and adhering close to one 
or both jaw-bones, is a hard, nodular swelling of the glands, 
largest on the side on which is the most affected nostril. 
According to the progress of the disease, more or less 
frequent cough and sneezing or snorting may exist. 

Farcy affects the superficial lymphatic glands and ves- 
sels, showing itself in painful corded swellings on various 
parts of the body, but especially between the hind-legs and 
on the neck and the head. Gradually the tumors, which 
are called farcy-buds, break and dis- 
charge unhealthy-looking pus. 

There are two forms of farcy and 
glanders, acute and chronic, and both 
highly contagious, especially glanders, 
which always proves incurable, though 
in its chronic form years may pass before 
the fatal termination ensues. It is sel" 
dom that either farcy or glanders termi- 
nates singly; that is, the animal generally 
dies with both diseases developed, and 
especially when the disease began with 
Farcy on the inside of the Symptoms of farcy, which clearly 
the Horse's Thigh, ghow their close relation or identical 

where the skin is thin 

and the hair ahnost nature. 

absent. With a view of shedding light on the 

important question of the contagiousness of glanders, we 
will mention the following deductions from facts brought 
forth by our own experience: 

1. That farcy and glanders, which constitute the same 
disease, are propagable through the medium of stabling, 
and this we believe to be the more usual way in which the 
disease is communicated from horse to horse. 

2. That infected stabling may harbor and retain the 
infection for months, or even years; and though by thor- 




THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 251 

ough cleansing and making use of certain disinfecting 
means the contagion may probably be destroyed, it would 
not, perhaps, be wise to occupy such stables immediately 
after such supposed or alleged disinfection. 

3. That virus (or poison of glanders) may lie for 
months in a state of incubation in the horse's constitu- 
tion before the disease breaks out. We have had the most 
indubitable evidence of its lurking in one horse's system 
for the space of fifteen weeks. 

4. That when a stud or stable of horses becomes con- 
taminated, the disease often makes fearful ravages among 
them before it quits them; and it is only after a period of 
several months' exemption from all disease of the kind 
that a clean bill of health can be safely rendered. 

[Note by the Editor.— When glanders or farcy is suspected, a 
competent veterinarian should be called, and, the disease identified, the 
animal should be killed, and completely burned or deeply buried.] 

{/>.) Chronic Catarrh {Nasal Gleet) following Strangles 
or Distemper. — 

The bone just under the left eye protrudes about three-fourths of an 
inch. The health otherwise is good, except cough a little at times. 

Similar symptoms may also exist in certain chronic con- 
stitutional diseases, such as anaemia and glanders, besides 
in catarrh of the frontal or maxillary sinuses. In chronic 
nasal catarrh, also called nasal gleet, the constitution should 
be supported by liberal nutritious feeding, and the use of 
vegetable and mineral tonics, such as a powder composed of 
half a dram each of sulphate of copper and sulphate of 
zinc, and three drams of powdered gentian-root or cala- 
mus-root, which may be given every evening, mixed among 
a ration of ground feed. This may be continued during a 
fortnight, and after fourteen days renew as before, and so 
on during alternate fourteen days, so long as it may appear 
necessary. Injections may be made carefully, twice daily, 
up through both nostrils, of a solution of half a dram of 
sulphate of zinc in a pint of blood-warm water. The horse 
should be housed or sheltered during stormy or wet 



2/>"i I lU I'RAIKIK 1 AKMIK llORsK HOOK. 

weather and during coUl nights. If the disease is glanders, 
no treatment will be of service, and great danger would 
be incurred in handling such an animal, as this loathsome 
disease is comnumicable to mankind through sores on the 
fingers or hands, or from picking the nose with the fingers, 
or rubbing the eyes, or getting the nasal (Uiid from the 
horse blown into the face, etc. If sores or ulcers can be 
seen inside the nose, and the glands under the jaw are hard 
and swollen, the disease is likely to be glanders, and the 
sooner the animal is destroyed and deeply buried the bet- 
ter, after which the stall, manger, halter, harness, and every- 
thing with which she has been in contact, should be thor- 
oughly scraped and cleaned, and thereafter soaked with 
a strong solution of chloride of lime. 

(<•.) Tooth- BUndfiess. — 

Do so-called "wolf-teeth" in horses ever cause blindness? Do 
any kind of teeth ever cause loss of vision? 

It is a prevailing opinion among horse-owners that the 
supernumerary small and rudimentary teeth in front of 
each upper row of grinders are productive of certain dis- 
eases of the horse's eye. This is a mistake, as there is no 
connection whatever between these teeth and the eyes. 
These teeth generally drop out with the shedding of the 
milk-teeth, or before the fifth year, but occasionally they 
remain. Very rarely they diverge from their straight or 
normal position to one side or the other, or have a sharp 
point, in either of which cases they may cause wounds in 
the tongue or the cheeks. They should then be drawn out 
with a pair of small nippers, but never be jerked or 
knocked out, as thereby is caused unnecessary pain and 
soreness of the gums, or other accidental injury. E.xten- 
sive disease of the upper grinders, by which the maxillary 
bones become implicated, may involve the eye-socket, and 
consequently the eye itself, mechanically. The same may 
happen in so-called big- jaw; but such cases are rare. 

(</.) Turn Sick in the Horse. — The presence within the 
skull of one or more hydatids, or so-called bladder-worms, 
originates from the ova;, or minute eggs, of tape-worms. 
This disease is more frequently met with in sheep under 



I III', I' I' A II' IK I AkMKK (fOK^K IK^OK. ',ii')','> 

two years old, less frequently in youn;^ cattle, and very 
rarely in the horse and the goat. The first symptoms of 
this disease in the horse may he, and probafjly often are in 
its first stage, mistaken for thfjse of sleepy staggers. 
'I'here are three stages of development in this disease. 
The first stage generally occurs during the latter part of 
summer or in the fall of the year, and consists in mr^rc or 
less severe irritatir^n of the brain in consequciK;c of the 
immigration of the embryo into the brain, and which stage 
has an average duration of eight to ten days. After this 
(if the animal does not succumb during convulsions) there 
is a stage of latency (the second stage) lasting from three 
to five months, during which the animal is apparently 
healthy. The last stage, which generally occurs late in the 
winter or toward spring, generally ushers in with grad- 
ually increasing dullness, later with a peculiar uneasiness, 
during which, when left loose, the horse will walk around 
like a horse in a circus, generally turning around toward 
the same side, right or left, the side toward which he turns 
being the side of the brain at which the bladder-worm is 
if^dged. During this stage, which may last from one to 
two months, the horse is more or less frequently seized 
with cramps or convulsions, due to pre.ssure upon the brain 
from the hydatid, which gradually increases in size. 
Between the fourteenth and twentieth day after its entrance 
into the brain, the embryo hydatid (or coming so-called 
bladder-worm) is about the size of a hemp or millet seed; 
between the twenty-sixth and forty-second day, it reaches 
the size of a large pea; between the fiftieth and seventieth 
day, the size of a hazel-nut; and later it increases from the 
size and shape of a pigeon's egg to that of a goo.se's egg, 
and even larger. The hydatid, when taken out whole, now 
looks like a soft egg, or rather like an egg without a shell, and 
contains a clear, watery fluid. The inner coat of thi.s cyst 



254 THE PRAIRIE FARMER H(JRSE KiJOK, 

is dotted with numerous minute protuberances, or nodules, 
wliich are capable of slight elongations at will, and which 
are so many heads of future tape- worms. The symptoms 
of this disease in the horse, ox, and sheep are caused by 
the gradually increased pressure upon the brain by the 
presence of one or more of these cysts or so-called bladder- 
worms within the skull. Very rarely such cysts may wither 
and not become developed. It does not happen in more 
than two per cent, of cases. The balance, or ninety-eight 
of every hundred of such cases, are doomed to die, death 
generally resulting from atrophy of the brain, or paralysis 
of the same, with gradual and general wasting away of the 
body. No medical treatment can exert any influence upon 
this disease. The only treatment promising any relief 
consists in the removal of the hydatid from within the 
skull by a surgical operation. While this operation often 
proves successful in lambs, young sheep, and calves, its 
application on the mature ox or on the horse is almost out 
of the question, except when the cyst happens to be found 
located under the bones of the forehead or temple. To 
correctly diagnose its location, and to properly perform 
such an operation upon a horse, requires a more than 
average skill in the operator. 

[Note by the Editor. — Dogs should never be fed with sheep's 
heads unless thoroughly cooked. Wherever the excrement of dogs is 
found in pastures, it should be destroyed.] 

[t'.) Slobbering. — This horse had sore tongue, slavered, 
and had diiificulty in eating. The reply was: It is very likely 
that something is wrong with the molar teeth, or grinders, 
which should be carefully examined for sharp edges or 
projections. Some splinter of wood, or bone, or other 
pointed body may have become wedged between two teeth, 
and cause wounding of the tongue for every movement of 
the mouth. If the teeth are found to be very irregular, or 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



255 



sharp-pointed, they should be leveled with a proper tooth- 
rasp. The horse should be fed on mill-feed or steamed feed. 

[/.) Irregular Shedding of Teeth.— D. B., Lawrence, 
Kan. In young animals, it not infrequently happens 
that the shedding of the so-called milk-teeth, or colt's 
teeth, presents irregularities which cause difficulties in mas- 
tication of food, loss of appetite and condition, etc. When 
a milk-tooth becomes wedged between its two neighbors, 
the permanent tooth, shooting up from beneath, pushes 
the milk-tooth to one side, either inward or outward, and 
the permanent tooth may thus mechanically be prevented 
from assuming its natural position or direction. The con- 
sequence is either a bruising or lacerating of the gums, the 
cheek, or tongue, as the case may be, and difficulty in chewing 
the food. Such cases require surgical interference as early as 
possible, by means of instruments adapted for such pur- 
poses, and a skilled veterinarian to perform the operation, 
'i'he chisel and mallet style will only be likely to make 
matters worse, and endanger the future usefulness of the 
animal. 

(^.) Crib-biting. — C. H. 
S., Edgar, Neb. This habit 
may be regarded as either 
the effect or the cause of 
indigestion, though it often 
proceeds from idleness, and 
from one horse imitating 
another that is cribbing. 
Place a cribber in a stall 
where the manger is lower 
than his knees, and let the 
lower part of the hay-rack. Muzzle for cnb-biter. 

as well as the window or air-hole, be higher than the top 
of his withers. The arrangement of the muscles of the 




2b6 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

horse's neck and jaw is such that he can only practice the 
act of cribbing when these can be brought into exertion at 
a certain leverage. Therefore, remove all protruding 
objects within the heights mentioned, as he can not crib 
when stretching the head up or down. When young horses 
are noticed to continually lick their manger or the wall, 
which generally precedes the habit of cribbing, the above 
arrangement should be made forthwith, and some common 
salt kept continually within their reach; the habit may thus 
be effectively prevented in the start. 

II. Diseases of the Eyes. — («.) Common Inflam- 
mation of the Eye. — Common ophthalmia in the horse is 
usually sudden in its attacks. The cornea becomes slightly 
dim, the white of the eye becomes marked with red streaks, 
the inside of the eyelids becomes red, the general substance 
of the eyelid becomes swollen, and the eye ceases to be able 
to open itself fully, and makes a discharge of tears; but 
the animal is not at all affected in his general health, and 
continues to feed with full appetite and work with an una- 
bated vigor. The causes of the inflammatory action are 
sometimes catarrh and other slight affections of the respira- 
tory system, but more commonly mechanical injuries, such 
as blows, scratches, or the lodgment of some bit of seed, 
or husk, or dirt, which the haw of the eye can not reach or 
eject. The inflammation will, in many instances, disappear 
of itself. But irritating substances within the eye must be 
sought for and removed; and all bad or obstinate cases 
ought to be treated with either lotions, fomentations, 
astringent applications, blistering, or topical bleedings, or 
with two or more of these remedies, accompanied by cool- 
ing diet and gentle physicking, according to the particular 
symptoms and circumstances. 

Secure the head, and turn the upper eyelid inside out, 
to ascertain if any dirt or ingrowing hairs are present, in 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 257 

which case remove the same. Then bathe the eyes fre- 
quently with blood-warm water or milk, by means of a 
soft, small sponge. Place the horse in a darkened stall, 
and after a day or two apply twice daily a sufficiency 
of a mixture of two drams each of laudanum and fluid 
extract of belladonna and a pint of soft water, or rain- 
water. 

{b.) Periodic Ophthalmia.— ¥L. E. S., Elderville, 111.: 
A mare eight years old, whose eyes, first one, then both, would 
become blue and watery; all visible parts of the ball looking the same 
color. It would remain so for about a weeic, then it would apparently be 
all right for several weeks, gradually becoming more frequent; and the 
mare is steadily losing her eyesight. Her eyes have never been hurt. 

This disease, which is also known by the name of moon- 
blindness (though the changes of the moon have nothing 
to do with its appearance), may be caused by want of ven- 
tilation and drainage of stables, a plethoric state of body, 
irritation consequent upon shedding of the teeth, etc. It 
IS peculiar to heavy and coarse breeds, especially on low- 
lands, and it is transmissible from parents to offspring; 
hence, sires or dams thus affected should not be used for 
breeding purposes. By way of treatment, place the horse 
in a darkened stall, and having given one or two rations of 
bran-mash, administer a purgative ball composed of five 
drams of aloes, one dram of calomel, two drams of nitre, 
one dram of capsicum, and mucilage sufficient to form a 
ball. Bathe the eyes thrice daily with warm water, by 
means of a soft sponge, and apply between the lids,' by 
means of a small camel's-hair pencil, a sufficiency of a 
mixture of half an ounce of Goulard's extract, one ounce 
of fluid extract of belladonna, and one pint of distilled 
water. Externally, apply to the eyelids and to the hollow 
over the eyebrows a small portion of fluid extract of bel- 
ladonna. Give fresh grass instead of hay. The disease is 
not permanently curable; but the known causes, if remov- 
able, should be removed or avoided. Generally, periodic 
ophthalmia finally terminates in cataract, producing per- 
manent blindness of such affected eye. 

17 



258 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

[c.) Traumatic Ophthalmia. — Procure an ointment of 
one dram of calomel and half an ounce of pure vaseline (not 
carbolized). The calomel should be very thoroughly mixed 
with the vaseline. Of this apply between the eyelids as 
much as the size of a pea three times daily. Or the follow- 
ing ointment may be used in the same manner: Mix 
thoroughly together one scruple of red precipitate and half 
an ounce of pure vaseline. It would be a good plan to use 
both of these ointments; that is, one of them during one 
week and the other during the following week, and so on 
during alternate weeks. 

{d?) Pink-Eye, So-called. — W. F. E., Dwight, Kan.; 

A yearling colt and a mare suffering from what is here termed 
pink-eye. Symptoms are a discharge at nostrils and eyes; eyes almost 
closed, having a red appearance in the eyeballs; loss of appetite and 
general weakness. 

Good care and nursing constitute the main treatment. 
Give ground or steamed feed, cold flaxseed-tea to drink 
instead of water. Prevent exposure to draft or wet; give 
ample bedding. In case of soreness of throat, apply 
liniment of ammonia and light flannel bandage. When 
the animal is much debilitated, give among the food, 
morning and evening, a powder composed of a dram of 
carbonate of iron and an ounce of powdered boneset. No 
exercise until recovery. 

III. Diseases of the Skin.— («.) Hide-bound, Etc. 
— W. W., Lancaster, Wis.: 

A brood-mare has been out of condition for about a year. The 
symptoms are hide-bound and either diarrhea or costiveness. Her eyes 
seem a little sunken. 

Discontinue feeding with dry, bulky food, and make fre- 
quent changes, giving oats and corn ground and mixed 
with bran; also give once a week a mess of steamed or 
cooked grain mixed with finely cut, sound wild hay. 
Among the food may be mixed, every evening during 
alternate weeks, a tablespoonful of a powder composed of 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 259 

one pound of flowers of sulphur, half a pound of flaxseed- 
meal, four ounces of black antimony, and two ounces of 
saltpetre. Give proper shelter and liberty out-doors daily 
when the weather is fair. 

(A) Pityriasis {^Skiii Disease). — G. R. W., Tennyson, 
Ind.: 

Horse appears to be in good health and in good order (fat, in fact), 
but he rubs his mane and tail continually, and keeps it rubbed almost 
naked. 

The ailment complained of is generally met with in 
horses which, while they receive liberally of nutritive food 
and are fat, yet suffer from want of proper daily allow- 
ances of elbow-grease. Reversing these proportions for a 
short time, and thereafter in a manner equalizing them, is 
almost all that is required. In an aggravated case, as the 
present, we advise daily washing with soft soap and warm 
water; and after rinsing with cold water and drying, apply 
to the affected parts a sufficiency of a liniment made of one 
part of Goulard's extract and fifteen parts of cotton-seed 
oil, or a mixture of one part of creosote and carbolic 
acid and thirty parts of cotton-seed oil. Internally may be 
given bicarbonate of soda in doses of half an ounce morn- 
ing and evening, mixed among small rations of ground 
feed, during one week or ten days. During days of fair 
weather, give liberty on pasturage. 

{c.) (Edema.— D. H. B., Madrid, Neb.: 

A two-year old became covered with large pimples, which, by rubbing 
and biting, soon became sores. Noticed a swelling under his body from 
the fore-legs backward. It appears to be filled with liquid of some kind, 
and is largest just back of the navel. 

Mix together half a dram each of powdered camphor 
and sulphate of iron, and half an ounce of powdered or 
ground juniper-berries; add to this as much flaxseed-meal, 
and with molasses make a thick paste, to be applied-with a 
flattened, smooth stick of wood upon the root of the tongue. 
Repeat this ihrice daily during one week. Feed on grain, 
and allow liberty out of doors during the day-time only 
when the weather is fair and dry. 



260 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

(d.) Prurigo. — Subscriber, Adrian, 111.: 

A two-year old filly commenced rubbing on different parts of her 
body, and broke out in little pimples, which we call flea-bites, the principal 
breaking-out being on the neck, breast, shoulders, hind-legs, as well as 
front ones, and along one side of body. 

The use of the curry-comb not proper, but cleanliness 
should be attended to by daily use of a brush. The animal 
should be fed sparingly, and after a day's feeding with 
soft feed or mashes, give a laxative compound of four 
drams of aloes, one dram of calomel, and two drams 
of ginger, made into a ball with soft soap. Such a ball may 
be repeated after ten days, after a day^s feeding on wet 
feed. External applications not required. A teaspoonful 
of Fowler's solution of arsenic may be given morning and 
evening during fourteen days, or during every alternate 
week, so long as may seem necessary. It may be mixed 
in a handful of ground feed and laid before the animal, 
which will readily eat this, as the solution has scarcely any 
taste or smell. But the latter should be kept under lock 
and key, to avoid serious mistakes in the household, and 
should be provided with a poison-label, on which should 
be written: " This is for a horse." 

(^.) Melanosis. — Subscriber, Durand, Wis.: 

I have a horse, five years old, whose hind-parts, both outside and 
inside of thighs, are covered with hard lumps or kernels from the size of 
a pea to as large as half a walnut. They seem to be very tender and 
sore when touched. Sheath is swelled and sore, though it does not get 
very foul, as it is kept clean. He eats well, and is in good flesh and 
spirits. 

Very likely these tumors are due to a state of melan- 
omatis, a disease in which there are dark, soot-colored 
tubercles under the integuments and in the viscera. These 
tumors are also sometimes called black cancer. This dis- 
ease is most frequently met with in horses of a light color, 
such as white, gray, yellow, or dun, fawn, roan, speckled, 
etc. Externally, the tumors mostly manifest themselves 
about the anus, the tail, and the genitals of both sexes. 
When some of these tumors become so large as to interfere 
with the natural functions of these external parts or organs, 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 2(J1 

they may be removed by dissection; but others soon take 
their place. Both external and internal treatment of this 
disease is very unsatisfactory, and generally may be 
regarded as useless. 

(/.) Lousiness. — Use the curry-comb and brush daily, 
and gather in a pail or other receptacle the hairs, dirt, and 
vermin thus removed. All that has been removed from 
the animals should be thrown on a fire. After each day's 
grooming, moisten the coat of the animals with a stiff brush 
dipped in weak vinegar. It is not necessary to make them 
soaking wet. Also, thoroughly clean out the stall at least 
twice a week, and burn all bedding, etc., thus removed. 
Give the floor, siding, and other wood-work a coat of white- 
wash. Keep lousy poultry away from the stable, because 
these, as well as lousy poultry-houses adjoining a stable, 
are a continual source of annoyance to stock. 

Or apply once a day, by means of a stiff brush, a suffi- 
ciency of a solution composed of two drams of borax in 
twenty ounces of hot water, to which add, when cold, four- 
teen ounces of acetic acid. 

If this does not destroy the lice, an oil or an ointment 
containing some active ingredient is the only suitable 
application, and even this ought to be used in as small a 
quantity as possible, and to be extended over a maximum 
surface by plentiful rubbing. A good application may be 
made of one part of strong mercurial ointment and five 
parts of hog's lard, well rubbed together; and the animal, 
for some time after being rubbed with it, must be kept 
from exposure to rain or cold. 

{g.) Mange. — Mange is an eruptive affection of the skin 
of animals, strictly similar, in both nature and symptoms, 
to itch in man. It presents some distinctive character- 
istics in our domestic animals; yet it possesses one pervad- 
ing virus of the nature of itch, and can be communicated 
from one species of domestic animal to another. It l)ears the 



262 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

name of scab in sheep, but maintains the name of mange 
in most other quadrupeds. It is, in all cases, both a loath- 
some and a discreditable disease. It seems generally, or 
always, to arise from the attacks of acri; yet it is often 
accompanied, and seems at least aggravated by the dis- 
gusting prevalence of lice. It is exceedingly contagious, 
passing readily from an infected animal to an uninfected 
one, whether the latter be strong or feeble, well or ill. 

Mange in horses occurs chiefly among the ill-fed and 
ill-kept, and occasionally among the overfed and highly 
kept. Its principal causes, apart from direct contagion, 
are want of cleanliness, bad diet, bad ventilation, insufifi- 




Test for Mange. 

cient grooming, emaciated condition, and sudden changes 
of temperature. Any horse may acquire it by contact with 
an infected one, or by rubbing himself against a stall in 
which a mangy horse has recently stood, etc.; but a healthy, 
strong, properly kept horse often resists even direct con- 
tagion. A mangy horse may be readily detected by his 
rubbing and biting himself so as to remove small portions 
of his hair; yet a healthy horse who is slowly contracting 
the disease may not be suspected during its earlier stages, 
and a horse who is affected merely with some cutaneous 
disorders arising from derangement of the digestive organs 
may be mistakingly pronounced mangy. Mange usually 
begins about the tail and the mane; it soon causes a scurf- 
iness and purulence about the roots and bulbs of the long 
hairs; and eventually spreads to other parts of the body, 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



263 



and detaches the hairy coat from patches of the neck, the 
shoulders, the crupper, and the loins. 

When a mangy horse has had a filthy stable, bad diet, 
and improper keeping, he must undergo a prompt and total 
change of regimen, and henceforth enjoy the necessaries 
of cleanliness, ventilation, good food, and good treatment; 
and when a mangy horse is emaciated, or otherwise con- 
stitutionally enfeebled, he must receive tonic and altera- 
tives, such as gentian, sulphur, and antunony, and a varied 
supply of generous diet. Every mangy horse, whether 
strong or feeble, underfed or overfed, must either be well 
washed with soft soap and water and rubbed with some 
special liniment, or freely sponged with some medicated 
liquid which shall serve the purpose of both wash and lini- 
ment. Among the good liniments may be mentioned a 
mixture of diluted creosote or carbolic acid and oil of tar; 
and among the lotions may be mentioned one consisting of, 
say two ounces of white hellebore, two ounces of tobacco, 
one pint of strong, fresh-made lime-water, and three pints 
of soft water; the hellebore and the tobacco boiled in the 
water till it evaporates down to a quart, and the lime-water 
added after the other has cooled. 

IV. Wounds, Abscesses, and Tumors.— (^?.) 
Lacerated Wound {Barb-wire Injury).— Y^^^^ the animal 
in-doors, preferably in a roomy box-stall or shed, where he 
can go loose. The wound should be cleaned several times 
daily with soft sponge and warm water, but no soap, and 
after cleansing apply with a soft feather to the crevices and 
the surface of the wound a sufficiency of a mixture of, say 
four ounces each of tincture of myrrh and tincture of aloes 
and one dram of carbolic acid. When taken in hand just 
after the accident has occurred, cold water should be 
applied continuously until bleeding ceases, and without 
touching or rubbing the wound. Thereafter, ragged edges 



264 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

and shreds of tissue should be clipped off, and the hair 
should be cut short close to the wound and all around it. 
Stitching and bandaging are rarely necessary, but if neces- 
sary it should be done by a physician, in the absence of a 
good veterinarian. Perfect rest for some time is essential, 
as well as grain-feeding. 

(d.) A Bruise. — A soft swelling is likely to be the 
result of a bruise. The horse may have run against some 
object, or may have been kicked by another 
horse. The swelling being soft and fluc- 
tuating, the contents are likely to be blood- 
water, or serum, which may be evacuated 
by making an incision through the skin. 
First clip the hair short over the extent of 
the swelling, then with a sharp-pointed 
knife make a bold incision through the skin, 
inserting the knife about midway in the 
swelling, and cutting downward to the low- 
est part of the swelling. Insert one or two 
fingers and remove all loose debris; cleanse 
Cleansing a Wound, ^j^j^ warm water, and when bleeding has 
ceased apply a sufficiency of a liniment made of equal 
parts of tincture of myrrh, tincture of aloes, tincture of 
asafetida, and oil of turpentine, mixed well together. This 
may be applied with a long-webbed feather two or three 
times daily. Cleanliness of the parts should be attended to 
morning and evening. Bandaging not necessary, but the 
animal should not be exposed to cold. 

(<r.) Indurated Swellvig. — Clip the hair short over the 
extent of the swelling, and apply once a day, for such 
length of time as may seem necessary, a sufficiency of a 
mixture composed of one dram of oxide of mercury and 
eight ounces each of glycerine and spirits of wine. Provide 
ample bedding, and do not allow the animal to lie down on a 
hard and uneven floor. 




THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 265 

({/.) A Callus. — Hair is not likely ever to entirely 
cover such scars, on account of absence of hair-bulbs or 
roots, and the callosity may not be entirely reduced by 
treatment. A small portion of an ointment made of half a 
dram of iodine mixed with two ounces of mercurial oint- 
ment may be applied once daily for a month or two. In 
season, give liberty on pasturage. 

(<?.) Chafing. — The skin about the neck and shoulders 
is, in some horses, very thin and sensitive, and during the 
summer months, when such animals perspire freely, the 
friction of the harness is apt to cause chafing, and some- 
times local inflammation of a troublesome nature. Whether 
this can be entirely prevented depends much on the condi- 
tion of the harness and on how it fits the horse. An ill- 
fitting harness or collar will chafe or gall any horse, and 
any harness will do so when sweat and dirt are allowed to 
dry into the harness, which by degrees becomes brittle, 
hard, and unyielding. All harness should be oiled at regu- 
lar intervals, and it should be sponged free from dirt and 
sweat every time it is taken off a sweating horse; and so far 
as the horse is concerned, all parts of him on which the 
harness rests or bears should likewise be sponged off with 
clean water before he is returned to the stall, or before the 
sweat gets dry on him. After this is done, such places as 
have become chafed by the collar, breast-plate, saddle, 
belly-strap, crupper, or any other part of the harness, may, 
every evening after the horse has been grazed, be bathed 
with a lotion made of one ounce of Goulard's extract and 
a pint of soft water. If any particular place on the horse 
is especially subject to chafing, the corresponding part of 
the harness may be prevented from bearing on the place 
by means of properly arranged light padding, which 
padding should be cleaned and aired after each day's 
use. 



2GG THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

(/.) An Old Sore. — It will be necessary to disintegrate 
the protruding raw surface, which is most effectually done 
by the application of a hot iron, and which is best done at 
the blacksmith's shop. The horse should be properly 
secured and a twitch applied to his nose, so as to keep 
him quiet. A half-inch or three-quarter-inch rod of iron 
should be heated to a glowing heat, and in applying it it 
should be gently moved against the surface of the wound, 
carefully touching the whole surface, and continuing until 
it becomes evident from the changed aspect that it has 
been thoroughly burned down to a level with the surround- 
ing skin. Great pains must be taken not to touch the 
surrounding skin, consequently it is best to wind some 
wet rags round the leg immediately above and below 
the sore. After firing, apply a liberal packing of loose tow 
or oakum, which should be dry, and secure it to the 
wounded surface by a linen bandage, so applied as to pro- 
duce a pressure. It should, however, not be tied so tight 
as to obstruct circulation of blood in the limb; but a firm 
pressure upon the burned surface is wanted. This bandage 
should remain on for twenty-four hours, when it should be 
removed and the wound washed with warm soap-suds. 
Thereafter apply a portion of a mixture composed of, say 
six ounces each of tincture of myrrh and tincture of aloes, 
in which is dissolved two ounces of sulphate of copper. 
Apply over this a dry tow or oakum pressure by means of 
a linen bandage, being careful to secure it in such a man- 
ner as to produce an even and firm pressure on the wound. 
Clean the parts and dress in this manner morning and 
evening. If, in spite of the compression, a luxurious sprout- 
ing, or so-called proud-flesh, appears, which generally 
bleeds freely on being touched, the whole surface may be 
touched once with lunar caustic, and the dressing continued 
as before. The healing of such indolent sores always results 
in a hairless scar, for which there is no remedy. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 267 

(g.) Abscess. — The term "abscess" applies to a collec- 
tion of pus or of other matter in a limited cavity under an 
animal's skin. It is the result of a morbid process, and 
may be induced by either an external cause, such as a 
bruise or the insertion of a nail or thorn, or by some inter- 
nal cause, such as peculiarity of constitution or impurity 
of blood. It differs from an ulcer in this, that in the latter 
the pus is formed from an exposed surface. While the 
abscess is forming, the skin is usually very tender, the whole 
system is sometimes in a state of considerable irritation, 
and the part immediately affected is always the seat of 
pain, sv^elling, and an unusual degree of heat. A watery or 
dropsical swelling, on being pressed, retains for some time 
the marks of the fingers; a windy swelling is even more 
yielding than the watery tumor; but a true abscess, though 
also in some degree elastic or impressible, resumes its 
former shape the instant the pressure is removed. Any 
abscess is bad in nearly the proportion of its hardness, red- 
ness, and power of resisting pressure. If an abscess, in its 
earlier stages, be yielding and well supplied with fluid, it 
soon softens and points, diminishes in pain, and approaches 
a state of maturity. At the time of the ''pointing" of the 
abscess, the matter in it can be felt more distinctly at one 
particular part than in any other part, and a tendency 
appears at this particular part to burst and to let out some 
or all of the collected matter. The bursting, however, 
should not be permitted; but at this stage the abscess 
should be opened at the lowest part, or that which would 
admit most readily of its discharging itself. The opening 
should be large, and no dressing will be required, except a 
continuance of the fomentation which should previously 
be used. It should be observed that if the abscess is 
languid and slow in forming, a stimulant, such as harts- 
horn liniment, rubbed in occasionally will be useful. The 



268 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

wound ought to be kept quite clean; the edges of it ought 
to be trimmed of their hair or wool; a bran poultice may 
be applied as a substitute for bathing; and, if the wound be 
very slow in healing, a liniment consisting of equal parts 
of sweet-oil and spirits of turpentine may be applied once 
or twice a day, and the animal may be indulged with an 
increased degree of nutritiousness in its food. The stuff- 
ing of the wound with tallow, tow, or other materials, as 
is often practiced, tends, at best, to retard the process of 
healing, and may possibly produce a far worse evil than 
that which it is intended to remove. When an abscess 
forms under a part of the skin which is thick and inelastic, 
or in any part which will not readily distend so as to 
accommodate itself to the collection of diseased matter, 
it is more likely than in ordinary cases to escape observation 
for a time, and is attended with much more pain, far more 
serious consequences to the animal. An abscess in the foot 
of an irritable horse, for example, is sometimes a cause of 
death; and abscesses in various other concealed and resist- 
ing parts of the body occasionally baffle even a skillful 
veterinarian by their intricate symptoms, and are not 
absolutely known to exist till the animals die of them and 
are dissected. Such exceedingly bad cases are, happily, not 
frequent; and when they do occur, they may reveal them- 
selves by the animal's loss of appetite, his hot skin, his 
constipated bowels, his quick and hard pulse^or, in one 
word, by his suffering a fever for which no other cause can 
be discovered. 

(//.) Fistula. — A fistula is a discharging orifice or canal, 
generally resulting from an abscess. It can rarely be 
treated successfully or permanently without being freely 
explored and laid open with a knife to the bottom. As a 
rule, incisions are to be made lengthwise with the body or 
limbs of the animal. When very deep-seated, setons made 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 269 

of soft leather, cut into strips of sufficient length and about 
a quarter of an inch in width, may be inserted through the 
various canals, pushing the seton needle through the same 
and out through the skin below. Thus dependent open- 
ings are made for the escape of matter, and injections of 
medicine may be made twice or thrice daily, after first 
squeezing out the contents and cleansing the surrounding 
skin and hair from adherent matter. If the escaping pus 
is of a dirty color, mixed with small dark or black spots, 
and has a very fetid odor, similar to that of decaying teeth, 
the bony structure or cartilage is affected. In this case, 
lay the fistula open with a knife to the bottom, and scrape 
away all decayed and 
black - looking por- 
tions of bone, carti- 
lage, or sinew, as 
there can be no cure 
of a fistula so long 
as such decay exists. 
When the bleeding 

occasioned by the 

. • 1 J Fistula of the Shoulder, 

operation has ceased, 

and the parts have been cleansed with a sponge and warm 
water, wads of loose tow or oakum, soaked with medi- 
cines, are to be placed in the cavity. Either of the follow- 
ing solutions may be used for dressing it: In each 
ounce of soft water dissolve one grain of chloride of 
zinc, or in each quart of water dissolve one ounce and 
a half of pure carbolic acid. When in the course of treat- 
ment unhealthy granulations, so-called proud-flesh, appear, 
apply a sufficiency of a solution of half a dram of chloride 
of zinc in six ounces of water; but apply only a few times. 
Feed the animal liberally, and give regular daily exercise; 
afterward liberty on pasturage. The withers are the 





270 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

most usual seat of fistula, from bruise by the fore part of 
the saddle. 

(/.) Poll-evil {Chronic). — If the swelling and running 
sore is located between the ears, immediately back of the 

top of the head, where 
it joins the neck, it 
is without doubt poll- 
evil. When it dis- 
charges pus, there is 
\ " ^^SWBBUMI^^^M lhSBiik'^ ;V ^^ no further necessity 

for poulticing. (See 
poulticing.) It will 
be best to enlarge the 
Poll-evil. orifice by making a 

deep incision with a sharp-pointed knife, in the direction from 
forward back, or lengthwise with the neck, not crosswise, 
and cut away all diseased surfaces, scraping off decayed 
portions of bone, if such are found; thereafter, when bleed- 
ing has ceased, renovate the parts with warm water, and 
insert loose tow or oakum soaked with a solution of half a 
dram of chloride of zinc to each pint of soft water. The 
horse should go loose in a roomy box-stall or comfortable 
shed, and not be tied by a halter to anything. The dress- 
ing should be repeated twice or thrice daily. 

(/) Tumors. — A tumor may disappear in the course 
of time without any treatment, provided that no pressure 
from harness or saddle is brought to bear on it. Otherwise, 
by clipping the hair short and blistering it a few times, 
absorption may cause its disappearance, and in a shorter 
time. No "pipe" is forming in a tumor before it has dis- 
charged, or before an abscess has formed, and a tumor may 
not necessarily develop into abscess. A fistula, in which 
the so-called pipe exists, is the result of an abscess or sore 
from which matter is discharged; hence no pipe can form 
or exist in a tumor that has not yet discharged pus. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 271 

(k.) Fibrous Tumors. — [Any part of the animal, 
especially near a bone, may have them. Case i men- 
tioned is in the lower front corner of the eye, between the 
haw and the lower lid. No. 2 is between the lower point 
of the shoulder and the neck, under where the collar 
pressed. No. 3 is on the limb, below knee or hock. — 
Editor.] 

1. The proper course is to have the tumor removed 
by dissection; but on account of its location, great care is 
required, and some dexterity in the operator, who should 
be a skilled veterinarian. In removing the tumor, avoid 
injuring the so-called haw, which should not be taken 
away. 

2. The only permanent cure consists in the removal of 
the tumor by excision or dissection. The person capable 
of doing this in a proper manner will also know how to 
direct after-treatment. 

3. A fibrous tumor, and located on the lower portion 
of the limb, if dry or healed over with the normal substi- 
tute for skin, although it may be unsightly, is best left 
alone, unless, perchance, it is so shaped or located that its 
removal by dissection can be accomplished without risk or 
without causing a possibly greater blemish. Unless the 
tumor seriously interferes with the free movements of 
the limb, or with the movements of the other limb, it is best 
to leave it alone. It is not likely that such a tumor of so 
long standing could be reduced by any kind of medicinal 
application. 

(/.) Callous and Horny Tumors. — The swelling is due 
to fibrous deposits and horny degeneration of the skin. 
These conditions being of several years' duration or exist- 
ence, can not be altered or removed by any applications. 
In the location mentioned, from the hoof, where it is horny, 
to above the fetlock, where it is tumorous, it would not 



272 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

materially interfere with the usefulness of the animal. 
Any irritating interference therewith may, instead of 
reducing the same, cause an increase thereof. 

(m.) Fungous Tumors. — If the tumor has a narrow 
base, or in other words is pear-shaped, with the narrow part 
toward the body, then it may be removed by strangling it, 
which may be done by tying very tightly a shoemaker's or 
saddler's waxed thread around the base of the tumor and 
fastening with double knot. The application and tying must 
be done without pulling, and care should be taken that 
no part (if of the urinary organ) is included in the ligature. 
When, after two or three days, the tumor does not drop off, 
apply another ligature, still tighter and with the same care. 
The tumor will then be likely to soon drop off, when the 
wound may be touched twice daily with some bluestone. 
If, however, the tumor has no narrow base, it may be best 
to have it removed, partly by dissection, and with the aid 
of an ecraseur. [This should be done by a veterinarian. 
Do not mistake a rupture for a tumor; constriction would 
be fatal. — Editor.] 

(//.) Fungous {Wart-like) Tumor. — W. M., Iowa: 
I have a young horse with a wart, or something of that kind, on his 
right fore-leg just below large part of shoulder. It is about the size of 
a hulled walnut. When the scab or outside is removed, it looks very 
red and angry. 

Procure, say one dram of muriatic acid in a . small 
glass-stoppered phial. Take a small piece of wood, about 
the size of an ordinary lead-pencil, flattened on one end. 
Secure the horse by applying a twitch on his nose. Then 
dip the flattened end of the stick in the muriatic acid, and, 
after removing the scab covering the tumor, apply by light 
strokes gradually over the whole surface of the tumor, 
carefully avoiding dripping any of the acid upon the skin 
or touching the surrounding healthy skin. Therefore only 
moisten the stick, dipping frequently in the bottle, and tak- 
ing care of the fingers, the hand, and the clothes. When 




THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE liOOK. 273 

the whole surface of the tumor exhibits a whitish film or 
coating, stop application and release the horse, but tie him 
for a few hours thereafter so that 
he can not reach the part with his 
mouth, which he will be likely to do 
unless prevented, immediately after 
application, and thus burn his mouth. 
It is best to apply the acid in the 
forenoon, so that the horse can be 
tied as usual in the afternoon. 
Apply thus only once every alter- 
nate or third day; and when the 
tumor has been reduced even with 
the skin, thereafter only apply 
daily a coat of tincture of iron or a 

strong alum solution. a Warty Head. 

{o.) Synovia/ Tumors. — In young animals, such enlarge- 
ments are generally due to laxity or want of tone of liga- 
ments or sheaths of tendons. Sometimes their reduction is 
accomplished by repeated mild blistering, and sometimes 
by rest and the use of specially adapted trusses obtained 
from dealers in sporting supplies. As the animals grow 
older and stronger, the tendency to such puffy tumors 
grows less and less. As a rule, these and kindred enlarge- 
ments or tumors do not cause lameness, but in valuable 
animals they are unpleasant eye-sores, which are apt to 
return, especially after hard usage. 

To make an incision into a synovial tumor with a knife, 

to remove excessive accumulation of fluid, is 

apt to cause considerable local inflammation, 

and at best such removal of the contents is 

only a temporary relief. These enlargements 

about the hock-joint are of the same nature 

as the so-called windgalls, generally located 

Bog-spavin '(Syn- above the fetlock. Treatment generally re- 

oviai Tumor.) quires rest or freedom from work. But as 

these tumors generally are the result of severe exertion, 

18 




274 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

or hard work, or a want of tonicity in the parts, the tumors 
are apt to reappear on the recurrence of any such cause. 

(/).) Fluctuating Tumors. — Fluctuation of a tumor is an 
indication that such tumor contains a fluid. It is not 
always an easy task, and it requires some experience and a 
certain dexterity and good judgment to not only decide 
whether a tumor is fluctuating, especially when a fluid is 
deeply located and only a small quantity is present, but 
also to decide what kind of fluid such tumor may con- 
tain. To ascertain whether a tumor is fluctuating, or, in 
other words, whether a perceptible motion can be commu- 
nicated to pus or other fluid contents of a tumor by pressure 
or percussion, the animal, or the part of the body on which 
the tumor is located, must be so placed that the tumor 
becomes to some extent tense or stretched; then the first 
and middle fingers of one hand are placed on one side of 
the tumor, and the same fingers of the other hand on the 
opposite side, and by alternate but continued moderate 
pressure it may be decided by rising and falling of the 
sides or the central part of the tumor whether any fluid 
is contained within. When it is found impossible to de- 
cide to a certainty whether a tumor contains any fluid, 
which may be due to its being deeply located and in small 
quantity, its presence and location, as well as the nature 
of its contents, may be ascertained by a sufiiciently deep 
insertion of a very fine trocar or by the aid of an aspirator 
needle. 

Without such aid to diagnosis, it must be taken into 
consideration on what part of the body the tumor is 
located, what kind of tumor it is, and how long it has 
existed. When, for instance, a tumor is located at a joint, 
or about tendons and ligaments, and it is soft, not par- 
ticularly warm or hot, and is easily fluctuating, it is almost 
certain to contain a synovial fluid, and, according to its 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 275 

location, such tumor is named the thorough-pin, windgall, 
etc. When a more or less large tumor, which is not warmer 
than the neighboring parts of the body, is located on the 
abdomen, causing the animal little or no pain, it is certain 
to be a hernia, or so-called rupture, the contents of which 
may be either a portion of the intestine or the omentum, 
although in female animals it may be a portion of the 
womb. The synovial tumors, as well as the rupture, may 
have existed for some time, or they may be of very recent 
origin, either of which may be known by their condition, 
and especially thereby that when of very recent origin 
there remain yet some signs of irritation or inflammation, 
such as pain by manipulation and increased heat, besides 
more or less swelling of the immediate neighborhood, 
which signs gradually disappear, while the tumor remains. 
(^.) Exostosis. — F. H. T., Lake Preston, S. Dak.: 

A four-year-old mare has a bunch about the size of a hickory-nut, 
and hard, on inside of leg, half-way between knee and hock-joint. She 
has never worked nor been driven on road. If you advise blistering, 
what shall I use as a blister, and how often ought blister to be applied, 
and length of time to continue same? 

The described bony tumor may owe its origin to some 
accidental injury, such as a blow or a kick; but whatever 
its origin, this kind of tumor had better be let alone when 
once it has attained the hardness of bone. During its 
early development, when the exudated mass is yet carti- 
laginous, local applications, with a view of promoting 
absorption, are often serviceable. Among such early 
applications may be mentioned frequently applied smooth 
and gentle friction, or continued moderate pressure by 
aid of bandaging. Blisters are not to be recommended in 
the early stage, or while heat and tenderness exist, because 
they are then apt to cause an increase of bony deposit 
instead of reduction. Later on, blisters may cause a 
partial (rarely an entire) reduction of the enlargement; but 
the process is very slow, tedious, and often disappointing 
in results. Repeated use of moderate blisters is preferable 



276 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

to Strong blistering or firing, which latter are apt to leave 
the additional blemishes of scars and permanent loss of 
hair. 

A blister that may be especially recommended consists, 
by weight, of one part of biniodide of mercury and twelve 
parts of hog's lard. After clipping the hair covering the 
tumor very short, rub little by little of the ointment into 
the skin by smart friction with the finger-nails until a 
proper coat of the ointment has been applied. This had 
better be done in the morning, for the mare should be kept 
tied so short during six to eight hours thereafter that she 
can not reach the blistered place with her mouth. The 
tail should also be tied up, as we understand the tumor to 
be located on a hind-leg. After eight hours, the mare may 
be tied as usual, or go loose. The next morning apply 
another coat of the blister, but without much friction, and 
it is not now necessary to tie the animal up, as she will not 
touch the place. The next day, and once daily thereafter, 
apply to the blistered surface a coat of hog's lard. This 
should be continued without interfering or attempting to 
remove the crust formed on the blistered surface. This 
crust will fall off by degrees during a fortnight, after 
which continue a daily coat of sweet-oil or lard during a 
week. A repetition of the blistering, etc., may be re- 
peated when the skin is again smooth and free from crust 
or raw places, and when the hair reappears. This blister- 
ing, with the precautions above stated, may be repeated 
three to five times. When after the third or fourth of 
such repetitions no material reduction in the size of the 
tumor should be apparent, it is useless to continue 
treatment. 

V. Rheumatism, Founder, Paralysis, Etc.— 

{a.) Rheumatistn. — Rheumatism is very common in 
horses, and it arises from exposure to cold and rain, 
especially after being heated with exercise, or from wash- 
ing with cold water while the animal is heated or perspir- 
ing, and, in general, from most of the causes which induce 
catarrh and influenza. It often attacks young horses which 
are severely worked, and old ones that have lived a life of 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. '^77 

coarse treatment and hard labor. It is sometimes indi- 
cated by swelling and perceptible tenderness; but, in gen- 
eral, it shows itself by mere lameness, accompanied always 
with expression of acute pain, and sometimes with a con- 
siderable degree of feverishness. Whenever lameness, 
after a careful examination, can not be accounted for, or is 
found to go off after exercise and to return again, it may 
pretty certainly be pronounced rheumatism. It is in all 
cases distressing, in many obstinate, in some a kind of tort- 
uring palsy, and in most capable of great alleviation, and 
even of a real and permanent cure. The remedies for it 
are change of diet, diuretic medicines, stimulating applica- 
tions, and somewhat warm and uniform temperature. 

Apply thrice daily to where the lameness may be located, 
with smart friction, a sufficiency of a liniment composed 
of equal parts of oil of turpentine, tincture of cantharides, 
and spirits of camphor. Give bran-mashes and other 
soft feed, and blood-warm water to drink. Keep constantly 
within reach of the horse a large lump of brown rock-salt. 

The animal should be kept comfortably housed, prefer- 
ably in a roomy box-stall or shed, well ventilated, and free 
from draft of cold air; let the food be of a rather loosen- 
ing kind, easy of digestion, and keep common salt con- 
stantly within reach in a separate small trough, not mixed 
among the food. During very cold, stormy, or wet weather, 
keep him in-doors, the body blanketed and the legs band- 
aged. Attend to regular daily grooming, to keep the 
pores of the skin open, and when the weather is mild, 
allow liberty out-doors or give gentle exercise. If the 
animal is not much used, it is best to have the shoes 
removed. It is likely that the blindness is due to the 
rheumatic diathesis. 

(d.) Founder. — This disease consists in inflammation of 
the laminae and of the vascular parts of the sensible foot. 



278 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



It sometimes attacks only one foot, sometimes two, and 
sometimes all four; but in a great majority of cases it 
attacks either one or both of the front feet. A chronic 
form sometimes occurs, and exhibits symptoms somewhat 
similar to those of contraction of the hoof; but acute 
inflammation of the laminae is what is generally called the 
founder. 

This disease is occasioned by overstraining of the 

laminae from long 
standing, by pro- 
longed or excessive 
driving over hard 
roads, by congestion 
from long confine- 
ment, by sudden re- 
action from standing 
in snow after being 
heated, or from 
covering with warm 
bedding after pro- 
longed exposure to 

Acute Laminitis, Founder, Fever in the Feet. cold by S U d d 6 n 

change of diet from a comparatively cool to a compara- 
tively heating kind of food, and by translation of inflam- 
matory action from some other part of the body, particu- 
larly after influenza. 

In the early stages of founder, a horse evinces great 
pain, shows excessive restlessness of foot, and tries to 
lighten the pressure of his body on the diseased feet. 
In the more advanced stages, he is feverish, breathes 
hard, has violent throbbing in the arteries of the fetlock, 
lies down, stretches out his legs, and sometimes gazes wist- 
fully upon the seat of the disease; and in the ulterior 
stages, if no efficacious remedies have been applied, the 




THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 279 

diseased feet either naturally recover their healthy condi- 
tion or they suppurate, slough, cast part or all of the hoof, 
and gradually acquire a small, weak, new hoof, or they 
undergo such mortification and change of tissues as to 
render the animal permanently useless. 

The shoe of a foundered foot must be removed; the 
hoof should be pared in such a manner that the sole and 
central portion of the same alone sustain the weight 
of the body. Therefore, the wall of the hoof, or that 
portion of the hoof which under normal conditions is 
made to bear upon the shoe, should be pared or rasped 
away, ail around, to such an extent that it does not 
touch the ground when the animal stands upon the foot. 
A well-bedded shed, or a roomy, well-bedded box-stall, 
should be provided, with a view of allowing ample room for 
stretching out, as well as for changing position, on a floor 
which should not be slanting, and which conveniences can 
not be had in a single stall, or when the animal is kept tied 
up in a confined space. Fomentations, evaporating lotions, 
wet cloths, and moist poultices should be applied to the 
feet. The animal ought to have light and spare diet and 
bran-mashes. When much fever exists, febrifuges and 
diuretics should be given. [See recipes. — Editor.] 

(r.) Colt Founder. — Founder after foaling is generally 
more troublesome and dangerous than if occurring in its 
ordinary forms. The treatment should, from the beginning, 
be like that adopted in ordinary cases of founder, but more 
energetic, both locally and internally. Laxative and seda- 
tive remedies should be given internally, and poultices 
applied to the fore-feet after removing the shoes, and the 
edge of the hoof pared well down, leaving the sole and frog 
intact, that the whole weight of the animal may come upon 
these parts. Among the derivative measures, not the least 
effective is allowing the colt to suck; or, if the colt is dead, 



280 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

to Strip the udder clear several times daily. In some cases 
with acute inflammation and high fever, no milk is secreted; 
nevertheless the sucking should not be left untried. The 
return of milk generally indicates a successful issue. Colt 
founder is sometimes complicated with inflammation of the 
womb or other excitant malady; ascertain this and treat 
accordingly. Among the causes of colt founder is a ple- 
thoric condition, resulting from improper diet, want of 
proper exercise, etc., during the last months of pregnancy. 
Mares subjected to moderate work and light, nutritious 
diet are seldom affected, while those kept idle and largely fed 
on grain are more commonly affected. In some instances, 
breeders give brood-mares large and nutritious mashes, 
intending to induce a large flow of milk. When such diet 
is combined with total inactivity, as is commonly done with 
a mistaken view of avoiding abortion, plethora is readily 
induced, and this tends to develop local inflammations, and 
among these the so-called colt founder. 

[d.) Azoturia. — T. E., Eyota, Minn.: 

A mare belonging to a neighbor; found her lying down in the stall 
suffering with spasms, but not like a case of colic or inflammation of the 
bowels; the bladder full of urine; a quality of very black urine, thick as 
molasses, was withdrawn by means of a catheter. Attempts were made 
to get her upon her feet, but found her hinder quarters paralyzed ; bowels 
did not act; died after forty-eight hours. 

The ailment from which the mare died was most likely 
azoturia, also sometimes called spinal meningitis. On the 
appearance of this disease the animal should be placed in a 
roomy, dry shed, free from drafts of cold air; plenty of 
short straw and chaff should be provided for bedding, which 
should be frequently adjusted and renewed, and kept dry 
by constantly removing all that becomes damp or wet. 
When unable to rise, the horse should be turned over every 
four hours, or oftener, if it becomes uneasy. If shod, the 
shoes should all be removed, to prevent injuring himself 
during convulsive struggles, and for the same reason plenty 



THE. PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 281 

of bedding should be kept under the head, and he should 
not lie too close to any wall or object against which he 
could injure himself. 

The main object in the treatment of this disease is to 
keep the excretory organs active. Therefore the first thing 
to do is to give a purgative dose of medicine, such as six 
drams of aloes dissolved in a pint of boiling-hot water, 
to which solution add one dram of podophylline, two 
drams of saltpetre, and one dram of powdered capsicum. 
From two quarts to a gallon of blood-warm soap-suds 
should be injected per rectum every hour until purgation 
commences. Give steamed or cooked feed, cold or warm, 
as the horse may prefer; and as the patient generally is 
thirsty, he may be allowed to drink quite freely, especially 
of flaxseed-tea. Success has followed the use of a mixture 
composed of one grain of atropia, ten drops of diluted sul- 
phuric acid, and six ounces of distilled water. Forty drops 
of this may be given every four hours. When tremors and 
convulsions exist, give every two hours a dram of bro- 
mide of potassium in a gill of cold water. 

Generally the urine is retained, which causes consider- 
able uneasiness and pain; wherefore it should be withdrawn, 
by the use of a sufficiently long, flexible catheter, about every 
fourth to sixth hour. If the horse on the second or third 
day should seem depressed, give every three hours an ounce 
of sweet spirits of nitre and two drams each of tincture of 
ginger and tincture of nux vomica. Attempts should also 
be made about the third or fourth day to get the horse to 
stand on his legs; but as he may not be able to support 
himself on account of weakness or numbness, and may 
soon fall and injure himself by awkward attemptsat standing 
or rising, a sufficiently strong and comfortable sling should 
be used. Most of these patients are at first disinclined to 
stand, but after being supported sufficiently, while the limbs 
are being briskly hand-rubbed, they soon regain strength 
enough to support themselves by aid of the sling. 

In this disease, neither blisters, stimulants, nor fomen- 
tations should be resorted to, as they do harm by exciting 
the animal, and increase its struggles. In cases of com- 
plete paralysis of the hinder parts, treatment generally 
proves useless. Perfect recovery from this disease is often 



282 THK 1>RA1RIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

slow. Most success attends treatment when instituted at 
the very beginning of the disease, which often runs its 
course very rapidly to a fatal termination. Much noise 
should be avoided, and the animal should be carefully 
watched and attended to by trusty men during the night as 
well as during the day. This disease has for a long time 
been very little understood; hence often most wrongfully, 
and as frequently most barbarously, treated, and conse- 
quently great fatality has been the general result. 

(<f.) Paralysis, or Palsy. — By this we understand a con- 
dition in which there is loss of muscular power from the 
arrest of nervous influence, and in which the muscles them- 
selves continue unimpaired, but wholly or partially cease 
to be strung and moved by the nervous energy. The pa- 
ralysis of the whole system, or what is generally called 
palsy, seems never to occur in the horse; and the paralysis 
of the whole of one side, or what is called hemiplegia, 
seems to be comparatively rare; but the paralysis of both 
sides of the hinder extremity, or what is called paraplegia, 
is somewhat frequent, and occasionally very stubborn and 
severe. When hemiplegia occurs, it is comparatively mild; 
but, if not cured, it usually passes into paraplegia. A 
palsy-struck horse is commonly affected first in one or both 
hind-legs, walks on his fetlocks, is scarcely able to move 
forward, staggers at every step, and eventually falls. His 
disease is essentially inflammatory, and may generally be 
traced to a fall, to overworking, to exposure to cold and 
wet while covered with perspiration, to some injury in the 
head, or to the effects or mismanagement of staggers. 
The remedies are blistering or mustard-poulticing, warm 
clothing, mash diet, frequent injections, and the adminis- 
tration of sedatives or tonics, according to circumstances 
and the cause or causes. A numbness of the limbs some- 
times arises from ordinary prolonged exposure to cold, wet 
weather; but this must not be confounded with palsy, and 



THK f'RAIKlK I'AKMKK HORSE BOOK. 283 

needs no special treatment; but it will soon go off in the 
stable or other comparatively snug situation. Paralysis of 
the sphincter muscle, or neck of the bladder, is sometimes 
induced by riding a horse hard and not giving him time to 
stale; and this causes a constant dribbling of the urine, and 
is often styled, with reference to the mere effect to the 
exclusion of reference to the cause, incontinence of urine. 
(/.) Partial Paralysis. — J. K. C, Luverne, Minn.: 

A mare that when she lies down can not get up without help. She 
raises her fore- legs, but can not arise. When she walks she has not per- 
fect control over her hind-limbs. 

The animal should be kept in a cool shed, provided 
with plenty of bedding, and she should not be tied. She 
should have oats and corn ground together, and plenty of 
fresh-cut grass. A stimulating liniment of ammonia should 
be applied over the loins, twice or thrice daily, composed 
of one part of aqua ammonia mixed with three parts of 
cotton-seed oil. Internally, give morning and evening 
one of the following powders: Take six grains of strych- 
nine, three ounces of ginger, and six ounces of gentian- 
root. Mix carefully and intimately together, and divide 
into twelve powder.s. 'I'he powder may be given with mo- 
lasses enough to make a paste, which apply upon the root 
of the tongue when there is no food in the mouth. 

(^.) Epilepsy. — F. T. M., Maquoketa, Iowa: 

A mare fourteen years old. She was taken with a kind of weaving or 
staggering of the hind-parts while walking, and while standing would fall 
at limes as if struck in the head with an ax, and immediately get up again. 
She has a good appetite, and at times will seem perfectly well. 

The probability is the mare is subject to epileptic fits. 
Epilepsy generally depends upon some abnormal state of 
the brain, caused either by debility, plethora, constipation, 
or intestinal worms, etc. The first attack, when energetic- 
ally treated, often prevents a recurrence of the evil; but 
in cases of long standing, treatment often proves unsatis- 
factory. Frequent changes in feeding, and the moderate 
use of stimulants, often prove serviceable. Tonic reme- 



284 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

dies, also, are used to eradicate the disease, such as oxide 
of zinc, nitrate of silver, sulphate of iron, phosphorus, gen- 
tian, etc. To nourish and stimulate the faulty structures, 
it has been proposed to administer phosphorus, in the form 
of an ethereal tincture, which is made by macerating, say 
four grains of phosphorus with an ounce of sulphuric ether. 
The dose of this tincture is fifteen drops three times a day, 
and given during a week. Next week, give morning and 
evening, each time, a dram and a half of powdered sul- 
phate of iron, united with three drams each of powdered 
gentian and ginger. On the third week, give the tincture 
as before, and so on during weeks alternately until all 
symptoms of the ailment disappear. Give loosening food 
twice or thrice weekly. 

VI. Some Internal Diseases. — (a.) Bots in Horses. 
— Botflies, or gadflies, constitute a tribe of dipterous insects 
well known to farmers for the annoyance which several of 
their species give to sheep, cattle, and horses. The per- 
fect insects are short-lived, and not often seen, and the 
larvae spend most of their existence under the skin, within 
the stomach, or otherwise in the interior of ruminating 
animals. Yet the whole tribe, in all the stages of exist- 
ence, is remarkable for extraordinary habits, nice mechan- 
ical adjustments, and a general character of wondrous 
instinct and beautiful organization. Two genera particu- 
larly come under our notice, namely, Gasterophilus and 
(Estrus. 

The great spotted horse-bot, Gasterophilus equi, is one 
of the largest, and by far the most common, not only of 
the genus, but of the tribe. Its length is about seven 
lines; its general color is clear yellowish-brown; its head 
is broad and obtuse; its thorax has a somewhat grayish 
color; its abdomen is rusty-brown, with a tinge of yellow 
and a series of dorsal spots, and its wings are whitish, 
with a black undulated transverse fascia behind the middle. 
The female, in a series of sudden descents or dartings, 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



285 




deposits her eggs upon the hair of some part of the horse, 
within reach of his mouth, making them instantly adhere 
by means of a glutinous secretion which she gives out 
along with them, and sometimes depositing upon a single 
horse as many as four or five hundred eggs. Each egg is 
somewhat conical in shape, the attached end forming the 
apex; and when seen 
through the magnify- 
ing-glass is shagreened 
on the surface with 
transverse and longi- 
tudinal striae. The 
horse in licking him- 
self takes up a consid- 
erable proportion of 
the eggs with his 
tongue; the eggs dis- 
close their animated 
contents either while 
on the tongue or very 
speedily after passing 
into the stomach, and 
the larvae immediately 
attach themselves to 
the stomach's 
tissue, and there remain 
in security from the 
end of summer or beginning of autumn till late in spring, 
enjoying a temperature of about 102° Fahrenheit, suffering 
no injury from the action of the gastric juices, feeding upon 
the mucus or the chyme, and gradually, though slowly, grow- 
ing to maturity of size. Each larva is shaped somewhat 
like a flask or elongated bag; it has a pale yellowish color; it 
possesses at the sides of its mouth two hooks, with which 




The CEstims Equi. (From the Work ou Bots, 
by Bracy Clark.) 



The female fly about 
to deposit an egg. 

inner ^' '^^^ male fly. 

3. The egg, its natural 
size. 

4. The egg, magnified. 



5. The newly-hatched 

hot. 

6. The hot full grown. 

7. The head of a bot, 

magnified. 

8. The chrysahs. 



286 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 




it anchors itself to the stomach's membrane; and it is 
engirdled with several belts or rings of spinelets and pro- 
jecting points, by means of which it regains its position 
when at any time it accidentally loses its hold. When it 
attains maturity, it disengages itself from its anchorage, is 
carried with the horse's food into the villous portion of the 
stomach, passes out with the same, and is evacuated with 

the dung. The ejected 
maggot seeks a place of 
shelter, buries itself in 
the ground, and changes 
into a chrysalis; the 
insect in this latter form 
resembles the larva in 
shape, but is more rigid, 
and has a reddish-brown 
color. After lying for a 
» . few weeks inactive, it 

§. . escapes by the narrow 
^m <^*^l^^^ ^"^ °^ ^^^ pupa-case and 
m^ ""^^^^^^ assumes its final form of 
^^ ^ an imago, or a fly. 

Many strong opinions 
have been entertained as 
to excessive injuries done 
to the horse by the 
above-described great common bot, and as to the desirable- 
ness of using strong medicinal means for destroying the 
insect; but all such opinions are very nearly without founda- 
tion. It is fortunate for the horse, or rather most beauti- 
fully ordained, that their numbers are much reduced, and 
kept within due limits, by the hazards they are exposed to 
in the singular round of their propagation. Some of the 
eggs, in the very act of their deposition, are shaken off by 



The fEstrus Heraorrhoidalis. 
(After Bracy Clark.) 

1. The female fly about 3. The bot. 

to deposit an egg. 4. The chrysalis, 

2. The egg, magnified. 5. The male fly. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 287 

the movements of the horse; some, though firmly deposited, 
are not taken up by the horse, or are externally hatched 
from the action of rain or other moisture, and in conse- 
quence perish; many are destroyed during the horse's proc- 
ess of mastication; many fail to make a lodgment in the 
stomach, but pass on to the intestines; and not a few of the 
matured larvae are dropped in such situations as to be 
crushed by the horse's foot, picked up by birds, or are 
unable to find a suitable retreat for their transmutation 
into chrysalides. Altogether, we may calculate that one 
hundred or upward perish, in the state of either egg or 
larva, for every individual which attains the perfect condi- 
tion of the fly. 

(d.) Intestinal Worms. — The complete destruction of 
intestinal worms as they pass from our domestic animals 
would tend materially toward lessening their propagation, 
when we take into consideration that each female worm 
may contain hundreds of thousands of minute eggs, which 
do not become extinct because the maternal worm dies, but 
will pass into the state of embryogeny, sooner or later, under 
favorable conditions, as we have stated above. The only 
sure method of completely destroying the intestinal worms 
that have passed from our domestic animals, whether these 
worms are alive or dead, or when found in the bodies of 
dead animals, consists in burning them. 

That an animal is infested with worms is known to a 
certainty only by their passing off with the excrement. 
When an animal under ordinary good care and good feed- 
ing remains in an unthrifty condition when not suffering 
from any disease, and even maintains a ravenous appetite, 
it may be assumed that intestinal parasites exist in large 
numbers. But treatment for worms should not be under- 
taken unless we are reasonably certain that worms are 
present. When worms are ascertained to be present, the 



'^88 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

animal may be treated as follows: Mix together equal 
parts of powdered tansy, calamus-root, wormwood, and 
common salt. Of this, mix for a full-grown horse or ox 
two tablespoonfuls, once or twice daily during a week, 
among a few quarts of ground feed. Younger animals are 
given less in proportion to their age. The strength of the 
animal should be supported by regular rations of nutritive 
food. If found necessary, the treatment may be renewed 
after fourteen days. 

Common salt is an article which we have often recom- 





1. Lumbricus, not peculiar 
to horses. One-foui-th 
natural size. 



2. An Ascaridis, 
natural size. 



3. A Strongulus. 
natural size. 



mended. It prevents as ell as remedies many disorders 
of the digestive organs, and in young stock it prevents the 
accumulation of worms in the intestinal canal. When not 
given free access to common salt at all times from colt- 
hood, horses are apt to partake too freely of the same, and 
the thirst thereby created causes them to drink so freely 
of water as to produce diarrhea. Salt the animal must 
have, and we have always advocated its continual presence 
where they could have access to it at all times, instead of 
mixing it among their food or giving it at certain or 
uncertain intervals, and perhaps in insufificient quantity. 
If common salt in grain or powdered condition is partaken 
of too greedily, lump-salt, or so-called rock-salt, should be 
procured. There should be a lump of stone-salt in every 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. ^89 

manger or feeding-box on the farm, both for horses, cattle, 
and sheep. Of course, the animals should also at all times 
have access to good and clear drinking-water. [The illus- 
trations show three forms of internal parasites; i is a 
common intestinal worm; 2 and 3 occupy the large intes- 
tines, 2 near the rectum; 3 sometimes cuts through im- 
portant structures. — Editor.] 

(c.) Diarrhea. — This affection, which consists in a 
relaxed condition of an animal's bowels, is sometimes a 
mere successful effort of the constitution to get rid of mat- 
ter which would be injurious to health; sometimes it arises 
from a temporary or stimulated overaction of certain of 
the digestive organs; and in neither of these cases is it to 
be regarded as a disease. But in most instances it is truly 
morbid, and in some it is not a little dangerous. It differs 
from dysentery in being merely a relaxation, and not an 
inflammation, of the mucous membrane of the intestines; 
in having its seat principally in the small bowels, while 
dysentery has its seat principally in the large bowels; in 
causing a discharge more copious, very liquid, and without 
any glairy mucous matter; in causing, from its very com- 
mencement, a free or copious purging, and in being 
usually unaccompanied, in its early stages, with much fever 
or with any other considerable disturbance of the health. 
Dysentery, it may be inferred, therefore, is generally the 
more dangerous disease of the two. Diarrhea, regarded 
physiologically, is an acceleration of the peristaltic motion 
of the bowels, accompanied with increased secretion of 
fluid matter in the intestines, or with a morbid inaptitude 
in the absorbent vessels to take up the due proportion of 
liquid from the mass which passes into the intestines from 
the stomach. 

Diarrhea in horses is not very frequent in occurrence, 
and seldom serious in character or difficult of cure. It is 

19 



290 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

occasioned variously by constitutional weakness in the, 
bowels, by lightness and smallness in the organic structure 
of the belly, by the drastic effect of overpurging with 
medicine, by a suppression of perspiration, by imperfect 
assimilation of food, by great and sudden change of diet, 
by oversecretion of bile, and, in a less degree and more 
infrequently, by some other causes. When the disease is 
constitutional, it must be palliated by a gentle and constant 
antagonism upon its peculiar causes, whether in the form 
of moderating drink, moderating labor, ortonically strength- 
ening the digestive organs. When it arises from any ordi- 
nary temporary cause, it may generally be cured by a 
change of diet and increase of warmth; and when it is 
either very violent or much prolonged, it must be subdued 
by means of astringents, first by the mouth, and then, if 
need be, by injections per rectum. The best astringents 
are powdered catechu, prepared opium, prepared chalk, and 
common alum; but the last of these ought not to be used 
in any but the very worst cases, and the others should be 
administered in some such emollient substance as thin 
boiled starch or arrow-root. 

(d.) Dysentery. — This disease is very liable to be mis- 
taken by ignorant or superficial observers for the far milder 
disease of diarrhea, but it is readily distinguishable from 
that disease as to both its nature and its symptoms; and as 
it is vastly more violent and frequently fatal, it ought to be 
easily recognized by everyone who has charge of any of 
the animals of a farm. 

Dysentery in the horse occurs oftener in young animals 
than in older ones, and in robust than in feeble ones, and 
is most frequently occasioned by a sudden check of per- 
spiration, a sudden and injudicious change in food, much 
exposure to cold and fatigue, pasturage on lowlands and 
marshes, the taking up of mineral poisons in food or drink. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK, 391 

and the excessive use of purgative or drastic medicines. It 
sometimes begins in diarrhea, but is more commonly an 
independent or primary disease; it consists in inflammation 
of the mucous membrane of the large intestines, attended 
with an increase and a morbid alteration of the mucous 
secretions, and with a general inflammatory and febrile 
action. The faecal discharges from it are frequent, slimy, 
fetid, and of greasy appearance. When the disease be- 
comes exceedingly virulent and aggravates itself into ulcer- 
ation of the intestines, the discharges from the bowels con- 
tain blood and leathery-looking pieces of coagulated lymph. 
The affected animal has dry mouth, heaving flanks, hot 
ears, great thirst, no appetite, much pain, and constant irri- 
tation and restiveness of the rectum. Treatment consists 
in the use of a saline aperient, such as sulphate of soda or 
sulphate of magnesia, in doses of from four to eight 
ounces, repeated twice daily, and injections per rectum 
several times daily of warm flaxseed-tea or slippery-elm tea, 
besides feeding with gruel or similar sloppy food. Calo- 
mel and opium, of each one scruple, given thrice daily for 
one or two days, have been attended with much benefit. 
When the severe inflammatory symptoms have subsided, 
styptic and stimulating remedies, which act topically on the 
mucous membrane, can be used, such as acetate of zinc, 
acetate of lead, and turpentine; all given in small doses, 
rather frequently, and mixed with large quantities of thin 
gruel or decoction of flaxseed. 

(e.) Symptomatic Fever. — Symptomatic fever is the 
attendant of inflammation in some particular part of the 
body, and, conjointly with the primary disease, is always 
more violent and dangerous than idiopathic fever; and 
though it requires, in very bad or peculiar cases, to be 
treated as if it were itself the primary disease, or nearly 
in the same manner as idiopathic fever, yet it ought 



292 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

generally to be viewed as a mere symptom, and will be 
found to subside simultaneously with the reduction of the 
disease which excites it. The chief thing connected with 
it is to mark the special varieties of its indications, as 
means of ascertaining the precise seat and modification of 
inflammation which causes it, and therefore as indices of 
the special varieties of treatment to be pursued. When 
the inflammation arises from excessive and prolonged exer- 
tion, the symptomatic fever is suddenly developed, and 
early exhibits a violent character; but when the inflam- 
mation arises otherwise, the symptomatic fever is gradually 
developed, and presents at first a mild appearance; and 
in any case it is not preceded by shivering. The principal 
symptoms common to it and idiopathic fever are loss of 
appetite, quick pulse, dejected look, hot mouth, and debil- 
ity. If to these symptoms are joined difficulty of breath- 
ing and quick working of the flanks, with coldness of the 
legs and ears, we may conclude that an inflammation of the 
lungs is the cause of the fever. If the horse hangs down 
his head in the manger, or leans back upon his halter with 
a strong appearance of being drowsy, the eyes appearing 
watery and inflamed, it is possible that the fever depends 
upon an accumulation of blood in the vessels of the brain, 
and that the staggers are approaching. In this case, how- 
ever, the pulse is not always quickened, but sometimes is 
unusually slow. When the symptoms of fever are joined 
with a yellowness of the membranes of the eyes and mouth, 
an inflammation of the liver is indicated. Should an in- 
flammation of the bowels be the cause, the horse generally 
shows signs of griping. An inflammation of the kidneys 
will also produce fever, and is distinguished by a suppres- 
sion of urine and an inability to bear pressure upon the 
loins. When inflammation of the bladder is the cause, the 
horse is frequently staling, voiding only very small quan- 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. ;il»3 

titles of urine, and that witli considerable pain. Extensive 
wounds, and particularly those of joints, will also produce 
symptomatic fever. Sometimes several of the internal 
parts are inflamed at the same instant, and, in fact, when 
inflammation has existed for a considerable length of time, 
it is seldom confined to the organ in which it originated; 
the disease spreads to other viscera, and when more than 
one organ is inflamed, the symptoms will generally be com- 
plicated. Still, however, the essential remedies are the 
same; that is to say, sedatives and blisters. 

(/.) Heaves. — If the symptoms become aggravated 
every time the horse is subjected to a smart trot or short 
gallop, or when pulling a load on heavy road or up-hill, 
the case may be one of heaves. Among the symptoms 
usually evinced are a feeble, dry, hacking, or suppressed 
cough; abnormally expanded nostrils; breathing is accom- 
panied with a peculiar jerking motion of the flanks; that 
is, the expulsion of air from the lungs is effected with a 
double movement of the abdominal muscles, after which 
the flanks suddenly fall down, and it takes a longer time to 
expel the air than to draw it in. There is a tendency to 
flatulency, or windy expansion of the abdomen, frequent 
passing of wind, especially when exercised in trot or gal- 
lop, etc. 

This malady, besides often being a sequel to bronchial 
catarrh and other diseases of the respiratory organs, is, 
perhaps, more frequently caused by dietetic errors, such as 
continued feeding upon dry, coarse, and bulky material, as 
timothy and millet hay, or dry corn-stalks; also such and 
other hay when dusty, moldy, damp and partly decom- 
posed. Other causes are overexertfon on full stomach, and 
especially when such horses are habitually fat, kept a long- 
time confined in idleness in the stable, and fed liberally on 
hay and other coarse and bulky food. Treatment with a 



294 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

view to permanent cure is generally not successful. How- 
ever, the ailment may be greatly ameliorated by a strict 
attention to the diet, which should be the reverse of that 
which has hitherto been given. Give nutritive food, of 
small bulk and of best quality, such as finely cut wild hay 
mixed with ground oats and corn, bran, and a small quan- 
tity of ground oil-cake or flaxseed-meal, all slightly wetted. 
In summer, green or succulent food instead of hay, and in 
winter, daily allowances of sliced carrots and other roots. 
Such horses should never be fed or watered immediately 
before use, and they should be used only for slow and easy 
work. 

(g.) Indigestion. — A chronic form of indigestion, or a 
kind of dyspepsia, sometimes attacks horses, and greatly 
impairs their strength and reduces their condition. A horse 
affected by it either has little appetite or a very irregular 
one; he passes a large portion of the materials of his food 
in an unassimilated condition, or not in a very different one 
from that in which they were eaten; and in the advanced 
stages of his illness he has a dry and staring coat, and ex- 
hibits the peculiar appearance of being hide-bound. The 
immediate causes of these symptoms are some morbid 
change in the stomach, some imperfection in its secretions, 
or the presence in it of some improper and disturbing mat- 
ter; and the originating cause may be a filthy, ill-ventilated 
stable, the use of musty hay or grain, the continued use of 
condition-powders and similar catch-penny nostrums, the 
heating of the body with too much clothing, the presence 
of intestinal worms, or any one or more of a hundred 
other unhealthy influences. 

The cure, like that of dyspepsia in the human subject, is 
determined by the nature of the cause, and must be such 
as to bring the digestive system under a totally different 
set of influences from those which have accompanied the 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 295 

disease. If worms be present, anthelmintics must be 
given; if the organic power of the stomach be diminished, 
tonics must be given; if good air, proper exercise, and 
sufficient grooming have been wanting, these requisites of 
health must be supplied; and, in any event, good restor- 
ative food, of a different kind from what the animal has 
been recently accustomed to, must be supplied — particu- 
larly succulent food in spring and abundance of nourishing 
food in autumn. [See anthelmintics and tonics. — Editor.] 

Besides having a small supply of common salt con- 
stantly within reach of the animals, procure the following 
medicines: Take of powdered sulphate of iron, one 
dram; powdered gentian-root, two drams; arsenic, five 
grains; mix. Give one such powder among slightly moist- 
ened oats every evening during a week. Then after one 
week's intermission repeat as before for a week. Continue 
during three alternate weeks, if deemed necessary. If 
from the rectal appearance there may be so-called pin- 
worms in the posterior portion of the intestines, these may 
be destroyed or dispelled by occasional injections of to- 
bacco decoction, the injections to be made soon after the 
horse has passed dung, and from one to two quarts in- 
jected at a time. Allow daily exercise. 

(h.) Hydro-thorax following Pleuro-pneumonia. — Give 
twice a day for a week or ten days the following: One dram 
of powdered sulphate of iron and three drams each of pow- 
dered gentian-root and powdered or ground cinchona; mix 
this with a sufficiency of honey to make a doughy mass, 
which place upon the root of the tongue with a flattened 
stick of wood. If much distress or difficulty of breathing 
exists, it may be best to resort to tapping, which may be 
repeated. Feed liberally on oats, etc. Horses recovering 
from this affection often remain wind-broken more or 
less. 



5i96 THE PRAIRIE FARMER KORSE BOOK. 

(/.) Wind-broken. — This malady, besides often being a 
sequel to catarrhal affections, is, perhaps, more frequently- 
caused by dietetic errors, such as continued feeding upon 
dry, coarse, and bulky material, as timothy and millet hay, 
corn-stalks, overripe, dusty, moldy, or partly decomposed 
hay. Other causes are overexertion on full stomach, and 
especially when such animal is habitually fat, kept a long 
time confined in-doors or idle, and meanwhile fed liberally 
on coarse or bulky food. Treatment, with a view of per- 
manent or complete cure, is generally not successful. 
However, the ailment may be very much ameliorated by a 
strict attention to the diet, which should be the reverse of 
that above stated. Give nutritive food of small bulk and 
best quality, such as finely cut wild hay mixed with ground 
oats and corn, bran, and a small quantity of crushed oil- 
cake or flaxseed-meal, all slightly wetted; besides this, in 
winter, daily allowances of sliced carrots and other roots; 
in summer, green or succulent food instead of hay. Such 
a horse should never be fed or watered immediately before 
use, and the usage should consist only in slow and easy 
work. 

(y.) Diabetes. — Excessive secretion of urine is due to a 
variety of causes, among which is, especially, feeding on 
musty, mow-burnt hay and musty or spoiled grain; also 
continued use of condition-powders, many of which contain 
harmful ingredients or drugs. Faulty food should be dis- 
continued or avoided, and instead give sound hay and 
grain, among each ration of which latter may be mixed a 
handful of ground flaxseed (not oil-cake); or, instead of 
the dry flaxseed, make flaxseed-tea, and water the horse 
always from a bucket containing half an ounce of flaxseed- 
tea and water. The flaxseed-tea need not be warm, but 
should be made fresh every day. By way of medication, 
give half a dram of iodide of potassium dissolved in a 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 29? 

little warm water, and mix this in the bucket of drinking- 
water above recommended. This may be repeated morn- 
ing, noon, and night during every second or alternate week. 
Until recovery takes place and strength and condition is 
gained, the horse should not be used, but should have lib- 
erty for sufficient exercise at will, and be housed in wet or 
cold weather and during nights. 

VII. Miscellaneous. — {a.) The Pulse. — In relation 
to this. Doctor Paaren says: The pulse may be felt in several 
places on the body, limbs, and head, both in man and 
animals. In man, it is most conveniently felt at the wrist, 
and in the horse on the branch of the carotid artery 
which passes under the jaw-bone just below its angle. 
It arises from the propulsion of the blood into the arteries 
by the contractions of the left ventricle of the heart, and 
it therefore indicates the strength of the contractions, the 
number of them in a minute, the regularity of their suc- 
cession, and the general effect of them upon the circulation. 
Numerous distinctions with regard to the pulse are made 
by physicians, but the principal circumstances to be 
attended to in the case of the horse are, first, its frequency, 
or the number of pulsations in a minute, which in a healthy 
horse is about forty; next, its strength. When the con- 
traction of the heart is strong, the pulse is felt distinctly 
though the artery be pressed moderately with the finger; 
but when weak, very little pressrte will prevent its being 
felt. When the artery is too irritabre and in strong action, 
it will contract quickly upon the blood it receives, and the 
impression or sensation conveyed by the finger will be 
short, or that which is expressed by hardness; when the 
swell of the artery is more slow or soft, it denotes the con- 
trary state; thus there may be a frequent, or, as it is more 
commonly named, a quick pulse, a strong pulse, a weak 
pulse, and a hard pulse or a soft pulse. To this may be 



298 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

added the irregular or intermitting pulse, which, of course, 
indicates an irregularity in the contractions of the heart, 
and sometimes happens when the horse does not labor 
under any serious disorder. Those who wish to attend to 
the diseases of horses should make themselves familiar 
with the state of the pulse both in health and disease, and 
they will learn from experience that it will enable them to 
judge better of the nature and probable event of a disease 
than any other single circumstance. 

Sir F. Fitzwygram writes more particularly upon this 
subject, as follows: 

The number of pulsations per minute in an adult 
healthy horse, the temperature of the air being about 60°, 
is from thirty-two to thirty-six. The pulse, however, in 
young subjects is generally quicker than in aged horses. 
It is also usually a few beats slower in low than in well- 
bred animals. 

Although the above is the usual number of beats, 
yet the pulse may vary from twenty-six tQ forty beats 
in the minute, notwithstanding the horse may be apparently 
in good health. 

The most convenient places for taking the pulse are 
the submaxillary, the radial, the temporal, the metatarsal, 
and the plantar arteries. [The neck vein, the artery under 
the jaw, the temple, and the vein of the foot are generally 
selected. — Editor.] 

The slightest excitement, especially when the horse is 
sick, will cause an alteration in the pulse. To ascertain, 
therefore, the true character of the pulse, both with refer- 
ence to tone and number, the animal should be approached 
very quietly, and should be soothed for a minute or two 
before the finger is applied to the artery. 

The fore and middle fingers should be placed on the 
artery in a transverse direction. If it is placed obliquely, 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK, 299 

the impression will be erroneous as to the true character 
of the beat. 

A regular pulse, with proportionate fullness, is the best 
criterion of health. Irregularity usually arises from irrita- 
bility or debility of the system. 

A strong and full pulse IS present during health under 
any temporary excitement; but this character is seldom 
found to accompany any morbid state into which the ani- 
mal may fall. The full pulse, which often accompanies 
disease, has always some vibratory hardness in it. 

The intermittent pulse. — A pulse is said to be intermit- 
tent when it beats two, three, or four times regularly, and 
then ceases for a period of time equal to two or three 
beats before it goes on again. 

Irregularity in strength. — The pulse may beat with nat- 
ural force two or three times in succession, and then the 
next beat or two may be feeble, and afterward it may 
become strong again, and so on. 

Intermittent and irregular. — The pulse may be both 
intermittent as to time and also irregular as to tone. 

The above changes indicate disease of the heart, either 
functional or structural, or both conjoined. 

Strong and full, or soft and full. — These conditions, 
though somewhat abnormal, are yet quite consistent with 
ordinary, though not perhaps with perfect health. 

Weak and small. — This condition is indicative of great 
debility, especially if the pulse is easily extinguished by 
pressure. 

Quick, feeble, fluttering, or imperceptible. — This condition 
is indicative of speedy death. 

The wiry pulse. — A hard, small pulse, as a wire is hard 
and small, indicates disease of a sthenic character, and is 
symptomatic especially of inflammation of the serous mem- 
branes and of white fibrous tissue. 



300 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

The thready pulse. — A pulse which is small and soft, as 
a thread is small and soft, is termed thready. It indicates 
great debility. 

The oppressed pulse. — The artery is full, but the beat is 
indistinct. It is indicative of congestion and inflammation 
of the lungs. 

The throbbing pulse. — In the region of any part which 
is inflamed or congested, or unusually excited from any 
irritation, the artery will throb more or less violently. 
The character of the pulse in the vicinity of local disease 
will indicate its intensity, and in some degree its nature. 

A remarkably slow pulse indicates disease or injury of 
the brain or spinal cord. 

{b.) Clyster. — This adjunct to treatment of diseases is 
much and very usefully employed on the human subject; 
but though equally well adapted to the lower animals, it 
has been very generally neglected in the case of even 
horses and cattle. An aperient clyster, in all animals, is 
highly serviceable in the first stages of fever, or in inflam- 
mation of the bowels, or in an irritated state of the bowels, 
or in obstinate costiveness, or for assisting the action of 
internally administered purgatives; an anodyne clyster is 
serviceable in cases of great irritation of the lower intes- 
tines, of obstinate diarrhea, or of excessive purging from 
the internal administration of cathartics; a nutritive clyster 
is valuable in cases of epidemic catarrh, influenza, locked- 
jaw, convulsions, extreme debility accompanied with want 
of appetite; and a cathartic clyster is of use in cases where 
the lower intestines are obstructed and require to be speed- 
ily evacuated. 

An aperient clyster for a horse may consist simply of a 
gallon of warm water, or of two ounces of common soap 
dissolved in a gallon of warm water, or of a pint of lin- 
seed-oil and nearly a gallon of warm water — though this 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 301 

last is appropriate chiefly for the purpose of expelling the 
species of worms which infest the rectum; a cathartic 
clyster for a horse may consist of half a pound of common 
salt, or of Epsom salts, dissolved in a gallon of warm water, 
or of an ounce or an ounce and a half of aloes dissolved 
in two or three quarts of warm water; an anodyne clyster 
for a horse may consist of one and a half to two quarts of 
very fine gruel, or one and a half to two quarts of thin 
mucilage of starch or arrow-root, or of four ounces of finely 
powdered prepared chalk, well stirred into one and a half 
to two quarts of gruel, with the addition, in very bad cases, 
of two scruples or a dram of powdered opium; and a 
nutritive clyster for a horse ought never to consist of 
strong broths, or ales, or wines, or any other stimulating 
substances, but ought to consist only of thick gruel, and 
to be administered in quantities of not more than a quart 
at a time. Proper clysters for cattle are strictly analogous 
to those for horses. 

The temperature of every clyster, at the moment of 
administering it, ought to be, as nearly as possible, 96° 
Fahrenheit. The principal art in administering a clyster 
consists in not frightening the animal. The pipe, well 
oiled, should be very gently introduced, and the fluid not 
too hastily thrown into the intestines. 

(c.) Parturition. — Among the signs of approaching 
parturition in the mare are engorgement of the udder, 
with edematous or dropsical swelling forward along the 
abdomen, swelling and flabbiness of the external genital 
parts, the membrane of which is reddened, and more or 
less covered with a viscid, glairy slime; the croup and 
flanks are hollow. Shortly before the act, a certain uneasi- 
ness or restlessness is evinced, and when watched while 
she is feeding, she may be noticed to suddenly stop chew- 
ing and appear as if listening to some sound, and then 



302 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

commence eating again. Some mares, when the time is 
close at hand, will show signs of colic, lying down and get- 
ting up at short intervals, and act as if in distress or pain, 
which may be looked upon as the labor-pains beginning. 
Phlegmatic mares are generally mute, and show less 
uneasiness, while others, while showing considerable dis- 
tress, may also utter stifled cries. These premonitory 
signs may occur within two hours of foaling, or may last 
from eight to twelve hours before the act. It will thus be 
seen that a mare may show none of the more urgent signs 
of the near approach of foaling when last seen at ten or 
twelve o'clock at night, while she is just as likely to be 
foaling within two hours thereafter. The after-birth, if not 
parted with simultaneously with the foal, is generally 
expelled soon thereafter, and it is exceedingly rare that it 
is retained after twelve hours, during which time no attempt 
should be made to remove it by force, as a fatal hemor- 
rhage might thus be provoked. We have not space here 
to describe the ailments to which new-born colts are liable. 
Diarrhea in all new-born animals very often terminates 
fatally. In the first place, the young animal should be 
kept warm and comfortable. Procure the following mix- 
ture: Decoction of marsh-mallow eight ounces, and tinct- 
ure of opium one fluid dram. Of this give every two 
hours two tablespoonfuls. 

(d.) (Edema Previous to Foaling. — A. B., Houghton, 
Iowa: 

I have a brood-mare which gave a sort of gluey substance instead of 
milk last spring, and her colt then died. She now has a swelling which 
some call milk farcy. I think you will call it local dropsy, or anasarca. 
She has it each time before foaling, commencing six weeks or two months 
before generating. The swelling extends from the udder forward in two 
ridges (one on each side of the abdomen), and seems to be two inches 
or two and a half inches thick. Her legs do not swell, and she eats 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 303 

well, and is apparently in good health. Please give remedy, and advise 
treatment, etc. 

Local swelling is of general occurrence in brood-mares 
during the latter half of the term of gestation; is of a harm- 
less nature, and requires no special attention, except when 
very extensive and painful, when some sedative and. cool- 
ing application may be of service, such as a lotion com- 
posed of one part each of tincture of opium and Goulard's 
extract and ten parts of soft water, of which mixture a 
sufficiency may be applied thrice daily. Such a mare 
should be given liberty of exercise during fair weather, and 
when grass exists, pasturage, together with limited allow- 
ance of oats. Let her have common salt, kept in a separate 
small trough in a convenient place under shelter from wet; 
also provide access to pure drinking-water. 

(e.) Drying up a Mare. — Give, mixed among ground 
feed, every evening during ten or fourteen days one dram 
of powdered sulphate of iron; also apply to the bag, 
twice or thrice daily, a sufficiency of a solution of one ounce 
of camphor in six ounces of cotton-seed oil. To avoid 
danger of caking of the udder, when the mare is possibly 
a heavy milker, it would be best to gradually wean the colt, 
by letting it get to the mare twice a day during a week, 
and next week once a day, and thereafter begin the appli- 
cations. Should, however, during the last week of wean- 
ing, or during the beginning of the applications, much ten- 
sion of the udder be present, a portion of milk may be 
withdrawn by hand once or twice a day. The use of the 
sulphate of iron may be commenced immediately, but 
should not be continued longer than stated. 

(/.) Electrical Effects. — The effects of lightning upon 
the object struck are manifold and various, and we see 
different results produced according to the varying circum- 
stances. These results depend both upon the form of the 
lightning, that is, upon its quantity and intensity, and upon 
the receptivity or conductivity of the object struck. When 



304 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

the effect of lightning is not fatal, more or less extensive 
paralysis may result, and the various internal and external 
organs, including the senses, may suffer temporary or per- 
manent impairment. In case of light shock, it is likely 
the animal will entirely recover in the course of time; but 
recovery is always slow. The constitution should be sup- 
ported by generous nutritive feeding and by the use of 
nerve stimulants, such Valeriana, nux vomica, etc. A tea- 
spoonful of tincture of nux vomica in a teacupful of water 
may be given morning and evening mixed in three quarts 
of ground feed. This may be continued during alternate 
weeks for some time. The eyes and ears would be bene- 
fited by repeated blistering behind and below the ears, but 
not near the eyes. The bottle containing the tincture of 
nux vomica should be labeled "Poison," and kept where 
children or others can not interfere with it. 

VIII. Diseases of the Limbs.— (<?.) Abnormal 
Position in Colts. — J. B. D., Hinsdale, 111.: 

This colt could not stand for several days after birth, and at ten day^ 
old the colt was so weak that both pastern-joints touched the ground, and 
the knee-joints turned out. 

No ordinary bandaging can be of any service in such a 
case. If anything, sheet-iron splints specially made to fit, 
properly padded and adjustable to the feet and the parts 
above, will be required. Skill and mechanical ingenuity, 
together with a knowledge of proper bandaging, etc., will 
be required to insure usefulness. A variety of details in 
the management and daily care of such a case, most of 
which can be suggested only at the time and place, are 
necessary to observe. In short, such a case will require an 
exceptionally skilled veterinarian's personal attendance, and 
very few such men can be found that have any experience 
or practical knowledge in handling such cases. If the mal- 
position of the limbs can be amended or altered, it must be 
at once; for it will not be long before the joint surfaces 
and the ligaments and tendons conform themselves to the 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 305 

existing condition in such a manner that alteration is ren- 
dered impossible. If the position described can not be 
rectified, the animal will forever be useless for any purpose; 
in fact, it would be cruel to continue its existence. 

[d.) Sweeny, So-called. — "Sweeny" is a name commonly 
given to a state of wasting of the muscles in various parts of 
the body or limbs of a horse. Wasting of the muscles is a 
symptom often accompanying chronic or painful disease of 
the extremities. For this reason, sweeny can not be con- 
sidered an independent affection, and must be regarded as 
only one of the symptoms evinced by an established dis- 
eased condition of the parts contiguous to or remote from 
the recognized seat of wasting. If, instead of treating 
sweeny as a local affection, proper attention were bestowed 
upon the original affection, the symptom " sweeny " would 
gradually disappear, provided that the original disease is at 
all curable. Any mode of treatment for sweeny is useless, or 
at best only of a temporary local benefit, so long as the cause 
of this symptom is not removed. Sweeny, or wasting of the 
muscles of the shoulder, or of the hip or rump, may be, and 
often is, due to some chronic or painful disease of the lower 
parts of the limbs, such as injuries of the bones or joints 
below, or painful spavins or ringbone; and the sweeny above 
will remain, more or less extensively, so long as the morbid 
condition exists below in a painful or progressive state. 

Occasionally, however, sweeny of the shoulder is due to 
severe sprain, etc., of the shoulder, such as in young horses 
from hard work, uneven pulling, or plunging in the harness, 
and only in such or similar cases may medical application 
to this part be of some benefit. Should the wasting be 
caused by injury of the shoulder, we would recommend 
the use of stimulants or rubefacients, such as camphorated 
liniment of ammonia, or of so-called sweating-blisters, or 
the insertion of one or two setons. 

20 



306 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



{£.) Infiammation of the Joints. — In inflammation of 
joints, the result of sprain or concussion, there is often a 
great tendency to an adventitious growth of fibrous tissue, 

which subsequently becomes 
converted into a kind of car- 
tilage, and by a further 
change into bone. Small 
bony tumors are occasionally 
found on the substances of 
fibrous tissue, floating loosely 
in the stifle, also in the hock- 
joint. In severe injuries of 
joints, whether from concus- 
sion or blows, there is often 
more or less inflammation of 
the bony structure and of 
the membrane which, invests 
the bone, as frequently 
shown by the throwing out 
of bony matter and by its 
depriving the joint cartilages 
of their proper nutriment, 

Rmgbone ands^eb^the first stage whereby they become ulcer- 
being inflammation. ated. Such results are fre- 




coronse, but still quently the effects of a kick, 
;S:°SLi° especially when near the 



1. Os suffraginis. 

2. Os coronas. 

3. Os pedis. 

4. Complete union 5. Complete union Stifle or SOme Other joint, 

byossiflcmat- of the three ^^^ symptoms of which for 

ter between the bones. -' ^ 

OS pedis and OS the first wcck or ten days 

may not, to the inexperienced, appear to be serious, as 
the animal may be scarcely lame or suffer much pain 
until the bone becomes so much inflamed that it may 
be quite impossible to prevent ulceration of the joint 
cartilage. The treatment of injuries to or near to joints. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 307 

also of open joints, should first be treated by uninterrupted 
cold applications. This may be most conveniently effected 
as follows: On the floor of the loft over the horse, or in 
some manner, fifteen or twenty feet above the stable-floor, 
place a large tub, to the bottom of which connect an india- 
rubber tube or small hose with a brass top and cock. By 
means of strings fastened to the hose, this can be fastened 
either to a crupper-strap or to a surcingle, and again with 
strings loosely tied to the limb, in such a manner that a 
constant small stream of water can traverse the injured 
parts. It should be so arranged that there is ample hose 
to allow the animal to lie down without destroying the 
fixings. In cases where the injury is of a dangerous 
nature, the water may be thus applied during the whole of 
the day, and continued daily for a month, if necessary; 
that is, if we see there is sufficient pain in the part to 
induce the animal to hold his foot off the ground more or 
less. Should the pain continue longer than about that 
time, we may have recourse to blistering over a very large 
surface round the injured part, and repeat the blister as 
often as may be necessary. If the injured joint is one 
which will admit of a linseed-meal poultice being easily 
applied by night, it should be done. Only in the most 
severe cases is it necessary to continue the cold water 
application for a month, but under this treatment cases 
often recover which would not be cured by any other 
means. In severe injuries, it is often necessary to put the 
horse into slings, more especially if the injury be to a hind- 
leg; also to remove all the shoes, to prevent founder. 

{d.) Bone Spavin. — Spavin assumes many aspects and 
possesses various virulence, from a slight and easily 
" curable " damage to an inveterate blemish or incurable 
disease. It is induced by kicks, bruises, leaping, over- 
straining, and rapid galloping, but especially by the over- 



308 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



working of a young horse before its limbs have sufficient 
strength, and by faulty and uneven shoeing. A spavin 
from a kick or blow is usually a mere bruise on the bone, 
or on the membrane which covers it, and can easily be 
cured; a spavin on the lowest part of 
the hock is of less consequence than 
one between the small bones of the 
hock-joint; a spavin near the edge of 
the limb is not so bad, because it does 
not so much affect the bending of the 
hock as one toward the middle; and a 
spavin of any kind in a colt or young 
horse is less inveterate than a spavin 
of the same kind in a fully matured 
horse, and very much less so than one 
in a decidedly old horse. 

In the earlier stages of bad bone 
spavin, a degree of lameness is always 
induced, and this is sometimes so great 
as to render the animal apparently all 
but worthless; but in the maturer 
stages, when the membrane of the 
bone becomes accommodated to the 
excrescence, the lameness decreases, 
and often totally disappears. 

The proper medical application for 
any ordinary bone spavin is a blister. 
The hair covering the affected part 
should be cut close to the skin; blister- 
ing ointment ought, in the morning, to 
be spread thickly over the part; and in 
the evening a coat of hog's lard may be spread over this, 
and be repeated once daily until the scab which forms 
after the blistering has peeled off, which generally occurs 




Exostosis, constituting 
Spavin. 

1. Os scaphoides. 

2. Os cuneiform parvum. 

3. Morbid growth of bone, 

constituting the dis- 
ease known as bone 
spavin. 

4. Large metatarsal or 

cannon bone. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 309 

within ten or twelve days. A second application may then 
be made, and this is usually more effective than the first, and 
in the case of colts or young horses often completes the 
cure. In very bad cases, so many as six or seven succes- 
sive applications of blister may be necessary; and they are 
not at all likely to aggravate the disease or occasion any 
other blemish, but, on the other hand, will generally effect 
a cure; yet, after the second time, they must not be 
repeated with greater rapidity than at intervals of fourteen, 
or even twenty-one days. A spavin which involves the 
joint surfaces of the small bones, and any ordinary spavia 
in an old animal, may be re- 
garded as incurable. Blister- 
ing, at all events, will not subdue 
such cases; and either the use 
of hot iron or some more power- 
ful agent than ordinary Spanish 
fly blister is the only probable 
remedy, but ought not to be 
employed without full con- 
sideration of risks, and may not 
unlikely destroy the limb, or at To feel for a spavin, 

least greatly aggravate the existing lameness. The safest 
method, in even the worst cases, is to give full trial to 
blistering; and, when this fails, to rest contented with what- 
ever degree of amelioration can be obtained from the slow 
and steady working of the animal. 

[From the foregoing, it will be apparent that those 
who pretend to cure spavin in its mature form are charla- 
tans, and especially those who pretend to cure by taking 
(eating) out the spavin are common swindlers; any pro- 
fessional veterinarian can do it, but they do not, for they 
know that the disability remains, and will tell you so. The 
same rule will apply to chronic cases of ringbone, etc., 
when bony deposit has taken place. — Editor.] 




310 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

(e.) Spr allied Hock. — After a few days of frequent 
application of ice-cold water, use frequent daily bathings 
with a mixture of one part of Goulard's extract and ten 
parts of soft water. When, after ten to fourteen days, the 
swelling has been reduced and tenderness has subsided, 
and no lameness is apparent, treatment may be discon- 
tinued, but the horse should not be used for any work 
for some time. If, however, after that time, the horse 
should go lame when trotted by the hand, blistering 
may then be resorted to. Before blistering, clip the hair 
short all around the hock, tie the tail up, and fasten the 
horse so that he can not reach the hock with his mouth. 
This should be done in the morning. A sufficiency of a 
blister composed of two drams of powdered 
cantharides, half an ounce of oil of turpen- 
tine, and two ounces of hog's lard should be 
rubbed well into the skin. Toward evening, 
the horse may be tied as usual. Another coat 
of the same kind of blister may be applied 
the next morning, but without much rubbing. 
Without washing off the blister, apply once 
A Clean Hock. ^ ^^^ during a fortnight a coat of hog's lard, 
without disturbing or attempting to remove the scabs or 
crusts that may form. 

It may be necessary, a month after the last application 
of blister, to repeat the same treatment. In cases of severe 
sprains, like the one under consideration, it is wrong to 
begin treatment by applying stimulating liniments or blis- 
ters; these should never be used before heat, tenderness, 
and swelling have been reduced by cooling and sedative 
applications, such as those above mentioned. While under 
treatment, the diet should be reduced to half the usual 
amount. Absolute, rest and quietude constitute half the 
care in all such cases. In order to give the horse a chance 




THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 311 

to change posture or position to suit his comfort, it is 
better to let him go loose in a roomy box-stall or com- 
fortable shed. Only after all signs of lameness have dis- 
appeared will it be proper to give moderate daily exercise. 
The treatment is identical for the sprain of any joint. 

(/•) Capped Hock. — This name is given to any enlarge- 
ment of the point of the hock the result of a bruise, most 
commonly produced by horses rolling in their stables, espe- 
cially if they have not much bedding. Some horses are 
much more in the habit of rolling than others. Capped 
hock is also produced by kicking at the sides of the stall, 
or while in harness. When recent, it is the result of inflam- 
mation of cellular tissue and effusion of serum into that 
structure of the cap formed by the skin and connected to 
the outer covering of the broad tendinous expansion which 
plays on the os calcis. In severe cases, arising from repeated 
kicking, there is often an effusion of lymph, which may 
either become organized or degenerate into pus, or a tumor 
varying in its consistence may be the result. In whatever 
state the disease may exist, it has rarely any communica- 
tion with the synovial cavities beneath the tendon on the 
point of the hock. 

Treatment in the earlier stage consists in reducing the 
inflammation by constant application of cold water and 
hand-rubbing; should that not produce entire absorption 
of the effused material, then apply carefully with a feather 
once a week on both sides of the hock over a large surface, 
omitting the affected part, not less than one ounce of 
tincture of iodine, the strength of which is four ounces of 
iodine to twenty ounces of methylated spirit. 

[The treatment of capped elbow is identical with the 
foregoing. — Editor.] 

{g.) Curbed Hock. — A curb is produced by some inor- 
dinate action of the hock, more especially in young horses 




312 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

when in bad condition. In its simple form, it is an enlarge- 
ment of the sheath of the tendons, so that the one passing 
over the distended part of the sheath is raised out of the 
straight line. It may be attended with lameness, but it is 
more commonly not, unless the sprain or injury be of a 
more severe character, or if the horse with 
a simple curb be repeatedly overweighted or 
overpaced, in which case the sheath and 
tendon become sprained and inflamed, and 
the fibrous structures of the tendons and 
other tissues in connection become thickened 
and enlarged. Enlargement is the first indica- 

Curby Hock. . . * , , , . , 

tion of curb, and often without any lameness. 
The treatment of curb is very simple. After continued 
applications of cold water to the hock for a couple of days, 
apply repeated blisters of Spanish fly, which, after the hair 
has been cut very short, may extend half-way of each side 
of the hock. 

(//.) Bog-Spavin. — Bog-spavin is a puffy enlargement on 
the inner side of the hock-joint, and is essentially the result 
of synovitis, there being an increased amount of synovial 
fluid (so-called joint-oil) in the joint, which causes the cap- 
sule to bulge on the inner and forward part of the hock, 
that being the weakest. In some cases, the inflammation 
of synovial membrane is acute, and the fluid is soon 
absorbed, but more frequently it is of a subacute charac- 
ter. The balance between effusion and absorption being 
deranged, there is a chronic filling of the joint by synovia, 
which has a tendency to become more or less viscid in its 
nature, and consequently less easily absorbed. During the 
time the horse is working or being exercised, the fluid 
becomes more or less absorbed, in some cases so much so 
that the disease may not be noticeable until the horse has 
been standing for some time. The treatment in recent 




THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 313 

and acute cases consists in rest, laxative medicine, and fre- 
quently repeated bathing with cold water during two days; 
after which, if necessary, apply extensively the tincture of 
iodine. In the treatment of all synovial enlargements, it is 
of much importance to give the animal a long rest. In 
some rare instances, hard tumors form at the seat of bog- 
spavin, and occasionally they even become bony. 

(/.) Ringbone. — If by repeated blister- 
ing lameness and pain could only be re- 
moved, and the further progress of the 
disease stopped, then all we could reason- 
ably expect to be gained by the treatment 
would have been gained. The bony en- 
largement, once established and solid, can 
not be removed by treatment; hence the 
application of the hot iron for this purpose 
would be a cruel act. Firing or blistering, '^^^ pastem and 

. pedal bone with 

or both, are resorted to as means of cure m severe Ringbone. 
cases of ringbone only with the expectation of obtaining 
the results first above stated. Possibly, by 
repeating the blistering at intervals of two or 
three weeks, and meanwhile giving the animal 
freedom from work, and liberty on pasturage 
during the balance of the season, a cure, so 
far as cure in such a case is possible, may be 
Aggravated Ring- obtained. The use of a red-hot iron in the 
bone. hands of a novice would be apt to result 

disastrously, for the necessary delicacy, skill, and dexterity 
could not be attained by anyone by simply reading a 
description of the modus operandi. 

(J.) Thorough-piti. — The so-called thorough-pin is 
similar to windgall, and, like this, is seldom permanently 
curable. It is apt to return when the animal is again put 
to steady work. Those smaller or of recent origin may be 





314 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

reduced by rest and not bandaging, or compress bandage 
kept wet with oak-bark decoction. A truss especially made 
for this purpose may be had in some of the 
larger saddlery establishments. In cases of 
long standing, both firing and blistering are 
resorted to, but often unsuccessfully. 

(/('.) Knee-spning. — This deformity is 
generally the sequel to severe and repeated 
sprains of the flexor tendons, or inflammation 
of these, which latter is generally of a chronic 
Thorough-pin. ^^^^^^ Contraction or shortening of the said 
tendons from such causes is generally of a permanent nature, 
for medical treatment is rarely of any benefit. In young 
animals, the removal of the shoes, entire freedom from use 
or work of any kind, and a year's liberty out-doors (except 
during very cold and wet days and nights), will prove of 
material benefit. Repeated blisterings, or firing and blis- 
tering, have their advocates; but besides the appearance of 
the limb becoming still more unsightly, very little benefit 
is gained, at least so far as the crookedness of the limb is 
concerned. With a view of lessening the strain upon the 
shortened tendons, the heel should not be pared too low, 
and a thick-heeled shoe should be used. In the stable, 
such horse should not stand upon a slanting stall-floor; in 
fact, such horse ought always to have liberty to^change his 
position to suit himself, for which reason he ought never 
to be tied in the stable, but should be kept loose in a 
roomy box-stall or comfortable shed. A splint, if it should 
be situated just under the knee-joint, may have something 
to do with the existence of contracted tendons; in fact, 
it is about the worst place a splint can be located, as in 
that place it is likely to remain a continuous source of in- 
terference with the freedom of the tendon immediately 
overlying it. A splint in that place is likely to remain a 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



315 



fixture, though it is apt to become smaller (albeit very 
slowly) by gradual absorption as the animal grows older. 
(/.) Grease. — This ailment occurs sometimes in the 
fore-feet, but oftener in the hind-feet; and though neither 
contagious nor epizootic, it not infrequently appears about 
one time, or within a brief period, on most or all of the 
horses in a stable. It essentially consists in a stoppage of 
the normal secretions of the skin, which are beneficially pro- 
vided for maintaining a soft condition of the skin of the 
heel, and preventing chapping and excoriation, and it usu- 
ally develops itself in redness, dryness, and scurfiness of 





First stage of confirmed Grease. 
(Exudation.) 



Second stage of confirmed Grease. 
(Cracks.) 



the skin; but in bad or prolonged cases it is accompanied 
with deep cracks, an ichorous discharge, more or less lame- 
ness, and even great ulceration and considerable fungous 
growth; and in the worst cases it spreads athwart all the 
heel, extends on the fetlock, or ascends the leg, and is 
accompanied with extensive swelling and a general oozing 
discharge of a peculiar strong, disagreeable odor. 

Most of the causes of grease are referable to bad man- 
agement, especially in regard to great and sudden changes 
in the exterior temperature of the heels. The feet of the 
horse may be alternately heated by the bedding and cooled 



316 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

by draft from the open stable-door; or they may first be 
made hot and sensitive by the irritating action of the urine 
and filth on the stable-floor, and then violently reacted on 
by the cold breezes of the open air; or they may be moist 
and reeking when the horse is led out to work, and then 
chilled for a long period by the slow evaporation of the 
moisture from them amid the clods and soil of the field; or 
they may be warm, and even perspiring, with the labor of 
the day, and next plunged into a stream or washed with 
cold water, and then allowed to dry partly in the open air 
and partly in the stable; and in many of these ways, or of 
any others which occasion sudden changes of temperature 
in the heels, especially when those changes are accom- 
panied or aggravated by the irritating action of filth, 
grease is exceedingly liable to be induced. Want of exer- 
cise, high feeding, and whatever tends to accumulate or to 
stagnate the normal greasy secretion in the skin of the 
heels, also operate, in some degree, as causes. By mere 
good management and by avoiding these known causes, 
horse-owners might prevent the appearance of this disease 
altogether. 

In the early, dry, scurfy stage of grease, the heels may 
be well cleaned with soft soap and water, and afterward 
thoroughly dried, and then treated with a dilution of Gou- 
lard's extract — one part to eight parts of water, or one part 
with six parts of lard-oil. In the mildest form of the stage 
of cracks and ichorous discharge, after cleansing, some dry- 
ing powder, such as equal quantities of white lead and 
putty (impure protoxide of zinc), may be applied, or simply 
the mixture of Goulard's extract with lard-oil may be con- 
tinued. In the virulent form of cracks, accompanied with 
ulceration, the heels ought to be daily washed clean with 
warm water, and afterward bathed with a mild astringent 
lotion, and every morning and evening thinly poulticed or 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 317 

coated with carbolized ointment; and the whole system 
ought to be acted on by alteratives, by nightly bran-mash, 
and, if the animal be in full condition, with a dose of purg- 
ative medicine. In the worst and most extensively spread 
cases, poultices of a very cooling kind, particularly poul- 
tices of scraped carrots or scraped turnips, ought to be 
used day and night, both for the sake of their own action 
and as preparatives to the action of the astringent applica- 
tion; and the whole course of treatment ought to aim at 
the abatement of the inflammatory action previous to the 
stopping of the discharge. Nothing tends so much to pre- 
vent grease and swelling of the legs as frequent hand-rub- 
bing and cleansing the heels carefully as soon as a horse 
comes in from exercise or work. In inveterate cases of 
grease, where the disease appears to have become habitual 
in some degree, a run at grass, when in season, is the only 
remedy. If a dry paddock is available, where a horse can 
be sheltered in bad weather, it will be found extremely con- 
venient, as in such circumstances he may perform his 
usual labor and at the same time be kept free from the 
complaint. 

(;«.) Scratches. — The heels become more or less tender 
and hot or feverish; small pustules form, which burst and 
leave a sore, ulcerating surface. There may be stiffness of 
gait, pain, and sometimes itching. In slight cases, the skin 
of the heel appears merely chapped. The ailment is often 
superinduced by a plethoric condition of the system, or it 
may be caused or aggravated by exposure to much wet or 
filth, and especially during spring and autumn, during 
which time, especially when horse's legs are much trimmed 
or deprived of their natural hairy covering, the disease 
may assume a chronic or inveterate form. It may become 
so aggravated as to cause fissures in the skin, with hard- 
ened edges, and a slow sloughing process tends to incapac- 



318 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

itate the animal for work. The treatment consists in 
moderate diet, cleanliness of the whole body, keeping the 
limbs clean and dry, and using mild astringent lotions, 
such as a mixture of half an ounce of Goulard's extract 
and half a pint of soft water; or, an ointment made of 
one part of subacetate of lead and eight parts of hog's 
lard. Advantage is derived from the use of oxide of zinc, 
in powder, which may be applied alone upon the raw 
surface or mixed with one-half or an equal quantity of 
finely powdered starch. Do not expose the horse to wet 
or filth, and keep his place in the stable free from draft, 
especially from behind. Suspend all washing of the heels 
and keep them clean by wiping with a moist chamois-skin. 
A tablespoonful of flowers of sulphur may be mixed among 
the food every evening. It is also well to keep common 
salt within reach of the horse, but do not mix it among 
the food. [See "Grease." — Editor.] 

(«.) Cracked Heels. — Attend first to cleanliness and dry 
flooring. Apply, duringone to two days, poultices of equal 
parts of boiled turnips and charcoal mashed together. 
Thereafter apply twice daily a sufficiency of an ointment 
made of one part of flowers of sulphur, two parts of pine 
tar, and three parts of hog's lard, all by weight. Give a 
bran-mash twice or thrice a week, among which mix half an 
ounce of powdered saltpetre; but the saltpetre should not 
be continued longer than thrice a week during one month, 
or the kidneys may suffer injury. 

In old-standing cases, the fissures in the skin may 
apparently heal up all right; but as long as any thickening 
of the part, or inflammation in it, remains, the skin will be 
apt to become sore again on very slight provocation. If the 
skin is at all tender, or if there exist in it any scars from 
previous attacks of this inflammation, the quicker the work 
for which the horse is used, the more liable will the ailment 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 319 

be to assume an aggravated form, or to commence anew, 
as the case may be, on account of the skin of the part 
being subjected to a greater amount of bending, and being 
more exposed to chill, than when the work was slow. The 
fibrous tissue which forms the white mark left by a scar 
does not possess the same degree of elasticity and suppleness 
as the uninjured skin. Besides this, when the skin is 
inflamed, it is but poorly supplied with lubricating fluid 
from the oil-glands, and is then not so well calculated to 
resist the effects of severe and continued bending. 

(o.) Elephant-Leg. — The so-called elephant-leg in horses 
is due to a slow, chronic form of inflammation, often 
co-existing with or due to grease, inflammation of the 
fibrous tissue enveloping the bones of the limb, etc., and 
appears as a flat, very slowly increasing swelling or filling 
up of the cellular tissue underneath the skin, with scarcely 
any increase of heat, and not very painful. The swelling, 
as it increases, becomes harder; heat and tenderness disap- 
pear; and we then have what is often termed a milk-leg; 
and when very large, an elephant-leg. Treatment, which 
does not generally prove of much benefit, and demands 
considerable patience of the owner or attendant, requires 
freedom for out-door exercise during fair weather, fre- 
quently applied pressure and friction, tight bandaging, and 
the daily application of such as hot soap-suds or lye of 
ashes, besides occasional laxative doses of aloes and a 
tablespoonful each of ground juniper-berries and Glauber's 
salts, mixed among ground feed every night during every 
other week. 

(/.) Swelled Legs {Stocking).— T\\\^ occurs mostly in 
horses deprived of sufficient exercise, or from local debility, 
and is generally confined to the hind-legs. It also occurs 
in cases of disease of the frog or other parts of the foot, 
and in cases of general debility. It generally disappears 



320 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



after exercise, and returns over night, or after a day's rest. 
Strong friction of the limbs will, in slight cases, cause? its 
disappearance. After such friction, or after exercise, apply 
spirits of camphor, or high-wine, or 
weak lye of ashes, also with friction. 
In all cases, apply a linen roller 
bandage thereafter. In prolonged 
cases, a laxative dose of aloes (four 
to six drams) will be of service, 
besides the local application, which 
latter may be repeated twice or 
thrice daily. If preferred, instead 
of the laxative, nitrate of potash 
may be given, powdered, of which fli'jjf"'°l^eip-" 
a teaspoonful may be mixed with ent scratches, 
ground feed morning and evening, but this should not be 
continued longer than during a week or ten days. 






Acute Gastritis from poisoning. 



PART XVIII. 



MEDICINES, AND SAFE DOSES TO ADMIN- 
ISTER. 



I. Alteratives {Change Conditions and Functions of 
Organs).— 'Wi&y replace unhealthy by healthy action, pro- 
ducing their effect by acting slowly but steadily on the 
organs of depuration (cleansing), as the skin, liver, and 
kidneys. 
In Disordered Conditions of the Skin — 

Emetic tartar ... - 5 ounces. 

Powdered ginger - - - - 3 ounces. 

Opium - ... - I ounce. 

Syrup enough to form sixteen balls; one to be given every night. 

{a) Cooling Alterative — 

Barbadoes aloes . . - - i ounce. 

Castile soap . - - - - i^ ounces. 

Ginger i^ ounce. 

Syrup enough to form six balls; one to be given every morning. 
Barbadoes aloes . . - - i^ drams. 

Emetic tartar ... - - 2 drams. 
Castile soap . - - - 2 drams. Mix. 

For General Use — 

Black sulphuret of antimony . . 2 to 4 drams. 

Sulphur .----- 2 drams. 

Nitre ----- 2 drams. 

Linseed-meal and water enough to form one ball. 
For Defective Secretions — 

Flowers of sulphur - - - 6 ounces. 

Emetic tartar 5 to 8 drams. 

Corrosive sublimate . - - 10 grains. 

21 (381) 



322 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

Linseed-meal mixed with hot water enough to form six balls, one of 
which may be given two or three times a week. 

Debility of Stomach — 

Calomel ...... i scruple. 

Aloes ------ I dram. 

Cascarilla bark, ) 

Gentian-root, V of each, in powder . i dram. 

Ginger, ) 

Castile soap . - . . 3 drams 

Syrup enough to make one ball, which may be given twice a week 
or every other night. 

II. Anodynes {Allay or Diminish Fain). — When taken 
into the stomach, they pass at once into the blood; act in a 
special manner on the nervous centers; exalt the nervous 
force, but soon depress it. They are given either to soothe 
the general nervous system or to stop diarrhea; or some- 
times to relieve spasm, as in colic, etc. 

For Colic — 

Linseed-oil - - - . - i pint. 

Oil of turpentine - - - - i to 2 ounces. 

Laudanum - _ . . -'ito2 ounces. 

Mix, and give every hour till relief is aiTorded. 

For Colic in Mild Cases — 

Powdered opium - - . - 3^to2 drams. 

Castile soap - - . . 2 drams. 

Camphor 2 drams. 

Ginger . - . . . i}4 drams. 

Make into a ball with licorice powder and treacle, and give every 
hour while the pain lasts. It should be kept in a bottle or bladder. 

Anodyne Ball^ Ordinary Use — 

Opium - 3^ to I dram. 

Castile soap . - - - 2 to 4 drams. 

Ginger . - . - - - i to 2 drams. 

Powdered anise-seed . . - J^ to i ounce. 

Oil of caraway-seed . . - }4. dram. 

Syrup enough to form a ball; to be dissolved in half a pint of warm 
ale, and given as a drench. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 323 

In Superpurgation, or Ordinary Diarrhea — 

Gum arabic 2 ounces. 

Boiling Water . . . - i pint. 

Dissolve, and then add — 

Oil of peppermint _ . . - 25 drops. 

Laudanum . . . - . 3^ to i ounce. 

Mix, and give night and morning, if necessary. 

Chronic Diarrhea — 

Powdered chalk and gum arabic, each . i ounce. 
Laudanum . . . - - J^ ounce. 

Peppermint water . _ . _ 10 ounces. 

Mix, and give night and morning. 

III. Anthelmintics {Expel H^orms).— Their action 
is by producing a disagreeable impression on the worms, 
and also by irritating the mucous lining of the bowels, and 
thus causing them to void their contents. 

Mr. Gamgee's Worm Ball— 

Asafetida . . . . . 2 drams. 

Calomel ij^ drams. 

Powdered savin . . - - 1J-2 drams. 

Oil of male fern ... - 30 drops. 
Treacle enough to make a ball, which should be given at night, and 
followed by a purge next morning. 

Mild Fortn, for Worms — 

Linseed-oil .... - i pint. 

Spirits of turpentine . _ . 2 drams. 

Mix, and give every morning. 

IV. Antispasmodics {Counteract Excessive Muscular 
Action, or Spasm), — The following exercises a peculiar con- 
trol over spasm: 

In Colic — 

Spirits of turpentine . - . . 3% ounces. 

Laudanum iM ounces. 

Barbadoes aloes . . . . i ounce. 

Powder the aloes, dissolve in warm water, add the other ingredients, 
and give as a drink, turned down. 



324 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

Clyster in Colic — 

Spirits of Turpentine . . . .6 ounces. 

Aloes ._.._. 2 drams. 

Dissolve in three quarts cf warm water, and stir turpentine well in. 

Antispasmodic Drink — 

Gin . . - . - - -4 to 6 ounces. 

Tincture of capsicum . . _ 2 drams. 

Laudanum . . . . .3 drams. 

Warm water . . . . i)^ pints. 

Mix, and give as drench (to be used only when there is inflammation). 

V. Aperients {Gently Open the Bowels'). — Aperients 
quicken or increase the evacuations from the bowels, vary- 
ing much in their mode of operation. Some act by exciting 
the muscular coat of the bowels to contract; others cause a 
great watery discharge; a third set combine the action of 
the two. Purgatives are also classed, according to the 
degree of their effect, into laxatives, acting mildly, and 
cathartics, acting very severely. 

Ordinary Physic Balls — 

Barbadoes aloes . . . . 3 to 8 drams. 

Hard soap . . . - . 4 drams. 

Ginger ..-.-- i dram. 
Dissolve in as small a quantity.of boiling water as will suffice; slowly 
evaporate to the proper consistence, to avoid griping. 

A Warm Physic Ball — 

Barbadoes aloes . - - _ 3 to 8 drams. 

Carbonate of soda . . - %, dram. 

Aromatic powder . . . . i dram. 

Oil of caraway - _ . - 12 drops. 

Dissolve as above, and then add the oil. 

Gentle Laxative Ball — 

Barbadoes aloes . . . . 3 to 5 drams. 

Rhubarb powder . . - - i to 2 drams. 

Ginger _ - - - , - - 2 drams. 

Oil of caraway . . . . 15 drops. 
Mix, and form into a ball, as before stated. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 325 

Stomachic Laxative Balls — 



Barbadoes aloes 


3 drams. 


Rhubarb . . . - . 


2 drams. 


Ginger . . . . . 


I dram. 


Cascarilla powder 


I dram. 


Oil of caraway 


. 15 drops. 


Carbonate of soda . . - 


\\^ drams. 


Dissolve the aloes as before, and add the 


other ingredients. 


Purging Balls with Calomel — 




Barbadoes aloes 


3 to 6 drams. 


Calomel ... - - 


J^ to I dram. 


Rhubarb . . . . 


I to 2 drams. 


Ginger 


J^ to I dram. 


Castile soap .... 


2 drams. 


Mix as before stated. 




{a?) Liquid Laxative Drink — 




Barbadoes aloes 


3 to 4 drams. 


Canella alba, . . . - 


I to 2 drams. 


Salt of tartar . . - - 


I dram. 


Mint-water . . - - 


8 ounces. Mi.x. 


{b.) Laxative Dose — 




Castor-oil . . . - 


3 to 6 ounces. 


Barbadoes aloes . . - . 


3 to 5 drams. 


Carbonate of soda 


2 drams. 


Mint water _ _ . - 


8 ounces. 



Dissolve the aloes in the mint-water by heat, and add the other in- 
gredients. 

(r.) A Mild Drench — 

Castor-oil ... - . 4 ounces. 

Epsom salts . - . - 3 to 5 ounces. 

Gruel ..---. 2 pints. Mix. 

{d.) Very Mild Laxative — 

Castor-oil . - - - - 4 ounces. 

Linseed-oil ... - - 4 ounces. 

Warm water or gruel . . . i pint. Mix. 



32G THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

Alterative for Staggers — 

Barbadoes aloes . . . _ 4 to 6 drams. 

Common salt .... 6 ounces. 

Flour of mustard - . . . I ounce. 

Water . _ . . . 2 pints. Mix. 

Gentle Cooling Drench in Attacks of Cold — 

Epsom salts . . . . .6 to 8 ounces. 
Whey ..... 2 pints. Mix. 

Alterative and Purgative Clyster — 

Common salt . . . - -4 to 8 ounces. 

Warm water . . . . 8 to 16 pints. 

VI. Astringents {Cause Contraction of Tissues). — 
They are divided into astringents administered by the 
mouth, and those applied locally to externally ulcerated or 
wounded surfaces. 

For Bloody Urine — 

Powdered catechu .... 3^ ounce. 

Alum ... - - % ounce. 

Cascarilla bark in powder . . i to 2 drams. 

Licorice powder and molasses or honey to form a ball, given twice 
a day. 

For Diabetes — 

Opium ..-.-. )4. dram. 
Ginger, powdered ... 2 drams. 

Oak bark, powdered .... I ounce. 
Alum, as much as the tea will dissolve. 
Camomile tea .... i pint. 

Mix for a drench. 

External Astringent Powders, External or Ulcerated Sur- 
faces — 
Powdered alum . ... 4 ounces. 

Armenian bole . . . . i ounce. 

White vitriol ..... 4 ounces. 
Oxide of zinc .... I ounce. Mix. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 327 

Astringent Lotion — 

Goulard extract - - - - 2 to 3 drams. 

Water ..---- % pint. 

Sulphate of copper . - - . I to 2 drams. 
Water ..---- }i pint. Mix. 

{a.) Astringent Ointment for Sore Heels — 

Acetate of lead . . _ - - i dram. 

Lard . . ^ - - - i ounce. Mix. 

{b.) Another — 

Nitrate of silver, powdered . . . }4, dram. 
Goulard extract ... - i dram. 

Lard .._.-- i ounce. 

Mix; use a very little every night. 

VII. Blisters, or Vesicants.— Blisters inflame the 
skin and produce a secretion of serum between the cutis and 
cuticle. There are two kinds, one for counter-irritation, 
to lessen irritation, the other called " sweating, " by which a 
discharge is obtained from the part itself, and thus relieved. 

(a.) Mild Blister Ointment (Counter -irritant') — 

Hog's lard .... - 4 ounces. 

Venice turpentine . . . i ounce. 

Powdered cantharides - - - 6 drams. 

Mix, and spread. 

{b.) Stronger Blister Ointment {Counter-irritant) — 

Spirits of turpentine . . - . i ounce. 

Sulphuric acid, by measure . _ 2 drams. 

Mix carefully in an open place, and add — 

Hog's lard 4 ounces. 

Powdered cantharides . - . i ounce. 

Mix, and spread. 
Very Strong Blister, or Counter-irritant — 

Strong mercurial ointment . . .4 ounces. 

Oil of origanum . . . . % ounce. 

Finely-powdered euphorbium . .3 drams. 

Powdered cantharides . - - H ounce. 

Mix, and spread. 



338 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

Rapid Blister as a Counter-irritant — 

Best flour of mustard . . .8 ounces. 

Made into a paste with water; then add — 

Oil of turpentine .... 2 ounces. 

Strong liquor of ammonia . . . i ounce. 
To be well rubbed into the chest, belly, or back, as the case may be, 
in acute inflammation. 

Sweating Blister — 

Strong mercurial ointment . . .2 ounces. 
Oil of origanum .... 2 drams. 

Corrosive sublimate .... 2 drams. 
Cantharides, powdered ... 3 drams. 

Mix, and rub in with the hand. 

Strong Siveating Blister for Splints, Ringbones, Spavins, etc. — • 

Biniodide of mercury . . . i lo 1% drams. 

Lard ...... i ounce. 

To be well rubbed into the legs, after cutting the hair short, fol- 
lowed by the daily use of arnica as a wash, to be painted on with a brush: 

Tincture of arnica . . . . i ounce. 

Water . . . . . 12 to 15 ounces. Mix. 

{a.) Liquid Sweating Blisters — 

Cantharides . . . . . i ounce. 

Spirits of turpentine ... 2 ounces. 

Methylated spirits of wine . . .1 pint. 

(/'.) Mix, and digest for a fortnight; then strain. 

Powdered cantharides . . . i ounce. 

Commercial pyroligneous acid . i pint. 

Mix, and digest for a fortnight, and strain. 

VIII. Caustics, or Cauteries {to Destroy Proud- 
flesh in Wounds). — They are of two kinds; first, the actual 
cautery — application of the burning-iron, called firing; and 
the potential cautery, by mineral caustics, as lunar caustic, 
corrosive sublimate, etc. Firing should only be done by a 
veterinary surgeon. 

((?.) Lunar Caustic, or Nitrate of Silver — 
Used to apply to profuse granulations. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 320 

(d.) Sulphate of Copper — 

Not so strong as lunar caustic. It may be rubbed into all high 
granulations, as broken knees and similar growths. 

(r.) Corrosive Sublimate in Powder — 

This acts energetically upon warty growths, but should be used with 
discretion. It may be safely applied to small surfaces, but not without 
advice of a regular practitioner to large ones, and should be washed off 
after remaining on a few minutes. 

(^.) Yellow Orpiment — 

May be used with freedom. It will remove warty growths. Pick 
off the heads and rub it in. 

(^.) Chloride of Zinc — 

A most powerful caustic, and effective in old sinuses, in solution — 
seven drams in a pint of water. 

Mild Caustic — 

(/.) Verdigris, either in powder or mixed with lard as an ointment, 
in the proportion of i to 3. 

(^.) Red precipitate, i to 3. 

(h.) Burnt alum, used dry. 

(».) Powdered white sugar. 

Mild Liquid Caustics — 

(y.) Solution of nitrate of silver, five to fifteen grains to the ounce 
of distilled water. 

(k.) Solution of blue vitriol, of about double the above strength. 

(/.) Chloride of zinc, one to three grains to the ounce of water. 

IX. Clysters ^for Injections). — Relieve obstruction 
or spasm of the bowels. They may be made of warm 
water or gruel for colic, of which several quarts may be 
required. (See Antispasmodics.) (Aperient clysters, see 
Aperients.) 

Anodyne Clyster in Diarrhea — 

Starch, made as for washing . .1 quart. 

Powdered opium . . . . 2 drams. 

The opium is to be boiled in water and added to the starch. 



330 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



X. Cordials. — These act as temporary stimulants to 
the system, and especially to the stomach. They augment 
the strength and spirits when depressed, as after over- 
exertion in work. 



(a 



(' 



Cordial Balls — 

Powdered caraway-seeds 

Ginger . . ' . . 

Oil of cloves - - - . 
Honey enough to make into a ball. 
{b.') Powdered anise-seed , 

Powdered cardamoms 

Powdered cassia 

Oil of caraway .... 
Mix with treacle into a ball. 

.) Cordial and Expectorant — 

Powdered anise seed ... 

Powdered squills . . . . 

Powdered myrrh ... 

Balsam of Peru enough to form a ball. 
(</.) Licorice powder .... 

Gum ammoniacum 

Balsam of tolu ... 

Powdered squills .... 
Linseed-meal and boiling water enough to form into a mass. 

XI. Demulcents {^Sheathe and Protect Irritated Sur- 
faces). — Are used in irritation of the bowels, kidneys, or 
bladder; in the two last cases by their effect upon the 
secretion of urine. 

Demulcent Drench — 

Gum arable ..... J^ ounce. 

Water ..... i pint. 

Dissolve, and give as a drench night and morning, or mixed with a 
mash. 

Linseed ....-- 4 ounces. 
Water ..... I quart. 

Simmer till a strong and thick decoction is obtained, and give as above. 



6 drams. 


2 drams. 


20 drops. 


6 drams. 


2 drams. 


I dram. 


2o drops. 


y^ ounce. 


I dram. 


1% drams. 


^ ounce. 


3 drams. 


1% drams. 


I dram. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 



331 



Marsh-mallow Drench — 

Marsh-mallows 

Water . . . . 

Prepare and use as the foregoing. 



A double handful. 
I quart. 



XII. Diaphoretics {Cause Perspiration). — Have spe- 
cial action on tlie skin, increasing perspiration sometimes 
enormously. Moderate exercise and clothing is required to 
bring out their effects, after which the horse should be 
rubbed till quite dry. 



Ordinary Drench — 




Solution of acetate of ammonia . 


. 3 to 4 ounces, 


Laudanum . . . . . 


I ounce. 


Mix, and give at night. 




Solution of acetate of ammonia . 


. 2 ounces. 


Spirits of nitric ether 


2 ounces. 


Mix, and give as above. 




Jn Cases of Hide-bound — 




Emetic tartar .... 


. ii^ drams. 


Camphor . . . . . 


^ dram. 


Ginger . - . . _ 


2 drams. 


Opium - . - . . 


1^ dram. 


Oil of caraway 


15 drops. 



Linseed-meal and boiling water, to form a ball, which is to be given 
twice or three times a week. 



Hide-bound, Mild Form — 

Antimonial powder 
Ginger 

Powdered caraway 
Oil of anise-seed 

Mix as above. 



2 drams. 
I dram. 
6 drams. 
20 drops. 



333 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

XIII. Digestives. — Applications promoting suppura- 
tion and the healing of wounds or ulcers. 

Digestive Ointment — 

Red precipitate .... 2 ounces. 

Venice turpentine . . . 3 ounces. 

Beeswax -_.... i ounce. 

Hog's lard ..... 4 ounces. 
Melt the last three ingredients over a slow fire, and when nearly cold 
stir in the powder. 

XIV. Diuretics. — These promote the secretion and 
discharge of urine; some act directly upon the kidneys, while 
others are taken up by the blood-vessels, causing an extra 
secretion of the urine. Their effect is to diminish the 
watery part of the blood and promote the absorption of 
abnormal fluid into any of the cavities, or into the cellular 
membrane in forms of dropsy. 



Stimulating Diuretic Ball — 




Powdered resin .... 


3 drams. 


Sal prunelle .... 


3 drams. 


Castile soap " " . . . 


3 drams. 


Oil of juniper .... 


I dram. Mix. 


Cooling Diuretic Ball — 




Powdered nitre .... 


y^, to I ounce. 


Camphor ..... 


I dram. 


Juniper-berries .... 


I dram. 


Soap ...... 


3 drams. 


Mi.x, adding linseed-meal enough to form a 


ball. 


Diuretic Powder for a Mash — 




Nitre ...... 


^ to % ounce. 


Resin _..... 


J^ to % ounce. ^ 


A More Active Powder — 




Nitre 


6 drams. 


Camphor . . . _ . 


i3>^ drams. Mix. 



Mix. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 333 

XV. Embrocations. — Embrocations, or liniments, 
reduce the pain and inflammation of internal parts when 
rubbed into the skin with the hand. 

Mitstard Embrocations — 

Pure flour of mustard ... 6 ounces. 

Liquor of ammonia . . - iK ounces. 

Oil of turpentine . . - . ij^ ounces. 

Mix with sufficient water to form a thin paste. Wash off with tepid 
water after being on fifteen or twenty minutes, and apply next day, or 
sooner if necessary. 
Stimulating Embrocation — 

Camphor - % ounce. 

Oil of turpentine ... % ounce. 

Spirits of wine . . . . % ounce. Mix. 

Sweating Embrocation for Windgalls, Bog- Spavin, etc. — 

Strong mercurial ointment - - 2 ounces. 

Camphor K ounce. 

Oil of rosemary .... 2 drams. 

Oil of turpentine . . . i ounce. Mix. 

Another, Stronger — 

Strong mercurial ointment - - 2 ounces. 

Oil of bay - i ounce. 

Oil of origanum .... 3^ ounce. 

Powdered cantharides . . . J4 ounce. Mix 

Very Active Sweating Embrocation — 

Biniodide of mercury . - . ^ to i dram. 

Powdered arnica- leaves . . i dram. 

Soap liniment . . . - 2 ounces. Mix. 

XVI. Emulsions.— Specially useful in soothing irri- 
tation of the mucous membrane of the trachea and bronchi. 

(a.) Simple Emulsion — 

Linseed-oil ... - - 2 ounces. 

Honey ..... 3 ounces. 

Soft water ..... I pint. 

Subcarbonate of potassa . . i dram. 

Dissolve the honey and potassa in the water; add the linseed-oil by 
degrees in a large mortar, and work it until it forms a milky appearance. 
It may be given night and morning. 



334 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK, 

(d.) Active Efnulsion — 

Simple emulsion as in (a) . . .7 ounces. 

Camphor ..... i dram. 

Opium, in powder .... 1^ dram. 

Oil of anise-seed .... 30 drops. 
Rub the last three ingredients together in a mortar with some white 
sugar; then add the emulsion by degrees. 

XVII. Expectorants. — Promote a discharge of 
mucus from the lining membrane of the bronchial tubes, 
relieving inflammation and allaying cough. 

For Ordinary Cough, without Inflammation — 



Gum ammoniacum .... 


3^ ounce. 


Powdered squills _ . . . 


I dram. 


Castile soap . . . _ _ 


2 drams. 


Honey enough to form a ball. 




For Old-standing Stomach Cough — 




Asafetida ..... 


3 drams. 


Galbanum ..... 


I dram. 


Carbonate of ammonia ... 


3^ dram. 


Ginger ..... 


ij^ drams. 


Honey enough to form a ball. 




Strong Expectorant Ball — 




Emetic tartar ..... 


3^ dram. 


Calomel ..... 


15 grains. 


Digitalis ..... 


3^ dram. 


Powdered squills 


3^ dram. 


Linseed-meal and water enough to form a 


ball, but not to be re- 


peated without great care. 




XVIII. Febrifuges {Counteract Fever and Lower 


the Temperature^. — Allay the arterial and nervous excite- 


ment accompanying febrile action. 




(a.) Fever Ball — 




Nitre ...... 


4 drams. 


Camphor ..... 


1 3^ drams. 


Calomel and opium, of each 


I scruple. 



Linseed-meal and water enough to form a ball. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 335 

(d.) Emetic tartar ij^^ to 2 drams. 

Compound powder of tragacanth . 2 drams. 
Linseed-meal as above. 

(c.) Nitre 3 drams. 

Camphor - . . . . 2 drams. 
Mix as above. 

Cooling Powder — 

Nitre ...... 6 drams to i ounce. 

May be given in a bran-mash. 

Cooling Drench — 

Nitre i ounce. 

Sweet spirits of nitre . _ . 2 ounces. 

Tincture of digitalis ... 2 drams. 

Whey or water .... i pint. 

XIX. Lotions. — Liquids applied to external parts, 
to cool them or to produce a healthy action. 

For External Inflammation — 

Goulard extract . . •. .1 ounce. 

Vinegar ..... 2 ounces. 

Spirits of wine or gin . . .3 ounces. 

Water ..... ij^ pints. 

Mix, and apply with a muslin bandage. 

For Inflamed Limbs ^ Galled Shoulder or Back — 
Sal ammoniac ..... i ounce. 
Vinegar ..... 4 ounces. 

Spirits of wine ..... 2 ounces. 
Tincture of arnica ... 2 drams. 

Water \^ pint. Mix. 

For Foul Ulcers — 

Sulphate of copper _ . . . i ounce. 

Nitric acid ..... J^ ounce. 

Water . . . . . .8 to 12 ounces. Mix. 

For the Eyes — 

Sulphate of zinc . . . . 20 to 25 grains. 

Water . . . _ _ 6 ounces. Mix. 



336 THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 

XX. Stimulants. — Stimulants particularly excite the 
action of the whole nervous and vascular systems. Almost 
all medicines are stimulants to some part or other, as, for 
instance, aperients, which stimulate the lining of the bowels, 
but to the general system are lowering. 

English Stimulant — 

Old ale - . . . . .1 quart. 

Carbonate of ammonia . . . J^ to 2 drams. 

Tincture of ginger .... 4 drams. 
Mix, and give as a drench. 

XXI. Stomachics. — Stomachics improve the tone 
of the stomach when impaired by bad management or dis- 
ease. 

(«'.) Stomach Ball — 

Powdered gentian . . . . ^^ ounce. 

Powdered ginger . . . _ ij^ drams. 

Carbonate of soda . . . . i dram. 

Treacle to form a ball. 
(h.) Cascarilla, powdered . . . i ounce. 

Myrrh . . . . . ij^ drams. 

Castile soap . _ . . . i dram. 

Mix with syrup or treacle into a ball, 

(f.) Powdered Colombo . . . . 3^ to i ounce. 
Powdered cassia .... i dram. 

Powdered rhubarb .... 2 drams. 
Mix as in {a). 

XXII. Styptics. — Styptics are remedies having a 
tendency to stop the flow of blood either from internal or 
external surfaces. The hot iron is always best in profuse 
external bleeding. If the part can not be reached with the 
heated iron, and may be by injection, as in bleeding from 
the nostrils, the following may be employed: 

Matico leaves ..... 3^ ounce. 

Boiling water .... i pint. 

Infuse, and when cold strain and inject into the cavity. 
For internal use, see Astringents. 



THE PRAIRIE FARMER HORSE BOOK. 337 

XXIII. Tonics. — These remedies permanently in- 
vigorate the whole body, and in this respect are in con- 
trast to stimulants which act locally, and the effect passes 
off. They are valuable in recovery after low and long- 
continued fever. 
Tonic Ball — 

Sulphate of iron - . . . ^ ounce. 

Extract of camomile . . _ i ounce. 

Mix, and form into a ball. 

A Powerful To7iic — 

Arsenic ---... lo grains. 

Ginger . . . . _ r dram. 

Powdered anise-seed _ _ . ^ 2 drams. 

Compound powder of tragacanth 2 drams. 

Form into two balls, and if the first does not produce the effect, give 
the other in twelve hours. 

Note. — In forming balls, they should be about the 
size and shape of the thumb. They are given by gently 
drawing out the tongue to one side, and placing the ball 
well back in the mouth, release the tongue immediately, 
and then hold up the head until the effort is made to 
swallow. It requires some dexterity to give a ball, and in 
the case of nervous or vicious horses, great care must be 
taken not to get bitten. A Balling iron should be kept in 
large stables. 



22 



INDEX. 



PART I. 
CHAEACTERISTICS OF PRINCIPAL BREEDS. 



PAGE. 

AbdaUah 13 

Alexander's Abdallah 11 

Almont 14 

Arab Horse 8 

A Thoroughbred Horse 11 

Bellfounder 13 

Dicta,tor 14 

Eclipse 9 

Edward Everett 14 

Ethan Allen 13 

For Work and Speed 7 

Hambletonian (Rysdyk's) 13 

Illustrating Points 10 

Illustrating Proportions 9 



PAGE. 

Imported Sir Archy 11 

Messenger Duroe 14 

Modern Trotting-Horses 13 

Morgans as Pony Horses 13 

Peculiarities of Structure 7 

Points of the Horse 10 

Sentinel 14 

Table of Proportions 8 

The Messenger Blood 14 

The Morgan Horse 13 

The Trotting- Horse 13 

Thoroughbred Horse 8 

Volunteer 14 



PART II. 



DRAFT 

A Flemish Integer 15 

Antiquity of Clydes 30 

Antiquity of Percherons 22 

Augeron Horse 26 

Boulonnais District 26 

Boulonnais Horse 36 

Cleveland Bay 37 

Cleveland Bay vs. French Coach.. 28 

Clyde Mare (Illustrated) 21 

Clydesdale Horse 19 

Coach- Horses 26 

Colors of Clydes 22 

Colors of English Shire Horses — 17 

Conestoga Horse 15 

Conestoga Horse (Illustrated) . .. 16 

Continental Blood 17 

Draft and Coach Horses 17 



HORSES. 

English and French Draft 

French Coach-Horse 

French Draft-Horse (Illustrated).. 

French Draft-Horses 

French Horses 

Illustration of Cleveland Bay 

Illustration of the French Coach- 
Horse 

Lincolnshire Horse 

Lochlyoch Mares 

Old American Types 

Percheron Horse, Brilliant 

Percherons 22 

Shire Horse Stud Book 

Suffolk Punch 

The Shire Horse 

Typical Shire Horse 



PART III. 
PONIES, ASSES, AND MULES. 

Asses and Mules 29 Canadian vs. Percheron . 

Canadian Pony 29 Exmoor Ponies 

(339) 



340 



INDEX. 



PAGE. 

English Ponies and Foal 30 

Hybrids 30 

Iceland Ponies 29 

Indian Pony 29 

Individual Types 29 The Mule 

PART IV. 
HYGIENE, CARE, AND MANAGEMENT. 



PAGE. 

Mules as Workers 31 

Mustang Pony 29 

Ponies 29 

Shetland Ponies 29 

31 



Absorbents 

Absorbing Liquids. . . , 

A Case in Point 

A Comparison 

Artificial Stable Conditions 

A Ventilating Shaft 

Care of the Stable 

Causes of Contagion 

Causes of Decay 

Cesspool Drainage 

City Stables 

Clean Stables 

Consei-vation of Animal Heat 

Danger in AVater 

Decay is Combustion 

Deodorization 

Drainage and Ventilation (Illus- 
trated) 

Drainage in Health and Sickness . . 

Drains 

Earth Absorption 

Earth Saturation 

Exercise 

Exhaustion of Animal Heat 

Experiments of Shubler 

Ferocity from Confinement 

Flushing Necessary in Draining . . . 

Foul Stables and Contagion 

Give Fresh Air 



Good Deodorizers 39 

Good Sanitation u.s. Contagion.... 41 

Gypsum in the Stable 39 

Harness-Room 47 

Head of Shaft 46 

Hygiene and the Stable 38 

Hygiene in Stables 33 

Illustrating Drainage in Cities 3.5 

Infection vs. Contagion 41 

Infection 38 

Light and Cleanliness 44 

Liquid Excrement Inimical 3.S 

Partitions 47 

Pure Air Requisite 32 

Stable Drainage 32 

Stable Windows 44 

Table of Disinfectants 40 

Temperature of Stables 42 

The Hair of Animals 42 

To Detect Danger 39 

Use Plenty of Bedding 35 

Ventilating Air-Pipes 37 

Ventilating Windows 4.5 

Ventilation and BedcUng 3.5 

Ventilation Important 32 

Ventilation in Disease 43 

Vital Heat 42 

What to Use 39 



Action in Trotting 55 

A Fine Coat 49 

Blanketing 51 

Brush and Cloth 52 

Canter, Position of the 55 

Care of the Horse . 48 

Cleaning a Tired Horse 53 



PART V. 
FEEDING AND GROOMING. 

Cleaning in the Stable 52 



Correct View of the Gallop 56 

Essence of Good Management 48 

Farmer's Horse 48 

Flexures of the Skin 53 

For Pleasure or Fast Work 55 

Health and Good Care 50 



INDEX. 



341 



PAGE. 

Herbert's Advice SI 

Horse Starting to Walk 54 

Illustrating the Canter 5(j 

Keep the Limbs Clean 50 

Outdoor Clothing 57 

Outdoor Grooming 52 

Pacing an Easy Gait 57 

Regular Grooming 49 

Stable Temperature and Clothing . 50 



PAGE. 

The Gallop 55 

The Horse in Motion 55 

The Pace .57 

The Stabled Horse 49 

True Trotting Action 54 

Use of the Curry-comb 53 

Value of Grooming 49 

Youatt and Herbert 48 



PART VI. 



BONES, MUSCLES, 



Anatomy 58 

Back Muscles (Illustrated) 78 

Bones, Fi-ont Limbs (Illustrated). 82 

Bones of Front Limbs 81 

Bones of Hind Limbs 83 

Bones of Head and Neck 68 

Bones of the Face 70 

Bones of the Head 68 

Bones of the Jaws 70 

Bones of the Pelvis 86 

Bones of the Shoulder 76 

Breast-Bone 62 

Cervical Vei-tebrse .59 

Collar-Bones 66 

Comparison of Limbs, Man and 

Horse 86 

Corresponding Bones, Man and 

Horse 64 

Delineation of Muscles of Hind- 
Quarters 89 

Divisions of Bones 58 

Entire Skeleton .59 

Fore-Leg 66 

Front Limbs 64 

Front Limbs, Joints 83 

Haunch 62 

Hawkins' Ideas 58 

Head and Neck Bones (Illustrated) 69 

Hip-Bone 63 

Hock 67 



ETC., OF THE HORSE. 

Hock-Bones 

Illustrating Hock-Bones 

Illustrating Shoulder Muscles . . .78, 

Knee 

Limbs, Man and Horse (Illus. ) 

Muscles, Front Limbs (Illustrated) 

Muscles, Head and Neck 

Muscles, Head (Illustrated) 

Muscles, Hind-Quarters 

Muscles, Neck (Illustrated) 

Muscles of the Back 

Muscles of the Feet 

Muscles of the Front Limbs 

Muscles of the Neck 

Muscles of the Shoulder 

Pelvis 

Ribs 

Series of Vertebrfe 

Spinal Column 

Structure of the Limbs 87, 

Support of the Horse 

The Tailor's Muscle 

Three-headed Muscle 

Thigh-Bone 

The Vertebree 

Upper Rear Bones 

Various Muscles of the Head 

Various Muscles of the Neck 

Vertebral Forms .... 



PART vn. 

AGE INDICATED BY THE TEETH. 

Aged Horses 101 Development of the Teeth 93 

Bad Management of the Teeth . . 103 Eight- Year Mouth 100 

Classification of Teeth 94 First Year's Teeth. 95 



342 



INDEX. 



PAGE. 

Five-year-old Teeth 98 

Horsemen's Tooth Nomenclature.. 95 

IiTegular Teeth 103 

Jaw, Eight-year-old 101 

Lower Jaw, Six Years 100 

Milk-Teeth 94 

Nippers and Tushes, Five Years.. 99 

Number of the Teeth 94 

Pig Jaws 10.3 

Study of the Teeth 9.3 



PAGE. 

Six-year-old Teeth 99 

Second Year's Teeth 96 

Teeth at Four and One-half Years 98 

Teeth at Three and One-half Yeare 97 

Teeth, very Old Horse 102 

Third Year's Teeth 96 

Three-year-old Mouth. 97 

Tooth Cement 94 

Tooth Enamel 94 

Wearing of Teeth 95 



PART VIII. 
VICES, UNSOUNDNESS, AND DISABILITIES. 



Delivered, May be Retiu-ned 109 

Disabilities 106 

Di.seases Rendering Unsound 105 

French Warranty Law 108 

Foot, Unsound 106 

Irish Warranty 107 

Latent Defects 108 

Limbs, Unsound 104 

Special Warranty 107 



Time of Expiration 108 

Try the Horse .... 107 

Unsoundness 104 

Veterinarian Guarantee 107 

Vices 104 

Warranty 104 

Warranty, Defective 106 

What Renders Unsound 104-108 



PART IX. 
BREEDING AND THE BREEDER'S ART. 



A Law of Generation 118 

Blood, Intercirculation of 115 

Determines External Characters. . 118 

Domesticated Species 108 

Evidence of Hybrids 119 

FertiUty of Hybrids 110 

For Vigor of Constitution 115 

Gestation Ill 

General Law of Breeding 118 

Harvey's Theory 115 

Heredity of Disability 122 

Hybrids 110 

Influences Affecting Progeny 113 

Influence of Parents 114 

Intercirculation 114 

Internal Structures 118 

Lord Rivers' Testimony 121 

M Giron's Experiment 124 

Modification by Selection 121 

Mr. Dickson's Idea 121 

Mr. Knight's Opinion 124 



Mr. Walker's Statement 120 

Mule and Hinny, Differences of. . . 120 

Mules in General 118 

Natural Species Ill 

Nicking 114 

Orton, as to Mules 119 

Period of Gestation Ill 

Power of the Male 115 

Production of Grades 117 

Prof. Cook on Sex 123 

Prof. Roberts on Theory 125 

Prof. Sanljorn on Theory 123 

Selective Influence 116 

Sex at Will 123 

Sex at Will, Mere Theory 136 

Sir Everett Howe's Belief. . 124 

Some Curious Facts 112 

The Hinny 119 

The Horse One Genus 110 

Value of Hybrids 117 

Wild Species 110 



INDEX. 



343 



PART X. 



COMMON DISEASES 

PAGE. 

Aggravated Pneumonia 140 

Bronchitis, Horse Dressed for 136 

Bronchitis 134 

Catarrh, Common Cold 128 

Causes Indicating Coughs 128 

Colds, Treatment of 129 

Diseases of the Eyes 127 

Distemper 141-146 

Distinctive Coughs 128 

Dressed for Strangles 143 

Eight- tailed Bandage 132 

Illustrations of Eyes 127 

Inflamed Eyes 127 

Influenza 147, 148 

Laryngitis 130 

Laryngitis, to Cure 131, 132 

Pleuritis, Treatment of 139 



OF THE HORSE. 

PAGE. 

Pleuro-pneiunonia, 137-141 

Pneumonia, Treatment of 139 

Recovery from Bronchitis 138 

Sore Throat 1.30 

Sore Throat after Treatment 133 

Strangles 141-146 

Strangles (Illustrated) 142 

Symptoms of Bronchitis 134 

Table of Gestation 113 

The Female Fimction 114 

The Foetus 114 

Treatment of Bronchitis 135-138 

Treatment of Colds 129 

Treatment of Influenza 148 

Treatment of Laryngitis 131-133 

Treatment of Sore Throat 131 

Treatment of Strangles 143-145 



PART XI. 
DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND INTESTINES. 

Spasmodic CoUc 151 

Stimulants in Colic 153 

Symptoms of Colic I.i4 

Treatment of Colic 154, 155 



Colic, Flatulent 150 

Colic, ReUeving Congestion in 158 

Colic, Spasmodic 150 

CoUc vs. Inflammation 157 

Illustration of Colic • 151 



PART XIL 
DISEASES OF THE KIDNEYS, BLADDER, AND LIVER. 



Bloody Urine 163 

Causes of Excessive Stahng 164 

Cystitis, Treatment of 160 

Dim'esis 164 

Excessive StaUng 164 

Inflammation of the Bladder. .... 160 

Inflammation of the Kidneys 157 

Irritation of the Bladder 159 

Neck of the Bladder, Inflammation 

of 160 

Neck of the Bladder, Treatment of 164 



Nephritis 151 

Retention of Urine 161 

Symptoms of Retention of Urine. 161 

The Bladder, Treatment of 159 

The Kidneys, Treatment of 158 

Treating Retention of Urine 162 

Treatment for the Bladder 1.59 

Treatment for Excessive Staling . . HJ5 

Treatment of Bloody Urine 163 

Treatment of Diuresis 165 

Urine, Detention of 161 



PART XIII. 
RELATING TO THE LIVER 
Acute Hepatitis 169 



Congestion of the Liver 168-171 

Diseases of the Liver 167-172 

Ftmctions of the Liver 166 



Hepatitis, Treatment of 170 

Increasing Liver Secretion 166 

Liver Congestion and Complica- 
tions 171 



344 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Liver Congestion, Treatment of. . . 169 

Liver, Inflammation of 169 

Liver, Organic Diseases of 171 

Secretion of the Bile 166 

Situation of the Liver 166 



PAGE. 

Slight Derangement 168 

Symptoms of Hepatitis 169 

Temporaiy Derangement, Cause of 16T 

Treatment of Congestion 172 

Treatment of Derangement 168 



PART XIV. 
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF CONDITIONS AND DISABILITIES. 



A Golden Rule 193 

Active Functions in Colts 174 

Acute and Chronic Diseases, not 

Hereditary 198 

Animals, Recovery from Disease. . 193 
A Skilled Veterinarian's Experi- 
ence 173 

Bearing-Reins and Collar 266 

Causes of Stumbling 186, 187 

Changes in Living Bodies 198 

CoUarand Bearing-Reins 206 

Dormant Heredity 190 

Draft -Horses must have their 

Heads 305 

Dry Heat and the Skin 200 

Evil of Blinders 204 

Exercise for Horses 179 

Extreme Debility 194 

Farm Stables 176 

Fat Impedes Respiration 182 

Few Horses Quite Sound 185 

Gastric Juice and Himger 202 

Hereditary Tendency 189 

Heredity and Disease 188 

High Breeding 197 

Hypercritical Decisions 184 



In-and-in Breeding 196 

Insufficient Shelter 175 

Lameness, Slow Growth of 179 

Mismanagement in Rearing 174 

Objectionable Harness 803 

Overf at Horses 182 

Overfeeding, Effects of 201 

Overworking Farm-Horses 177 

Process of Digestion 203 

Repletion of the Stomach 201 

Shelter, InsuflBcient 175 

Signs of Dissolution 192 

Skin, Abnormal Conditions of 191 

Soinidness 183 

Stumbling 186 

Suppressed Perspiration 195 

Suppurating Sin-faces 194 

Temperament of Horses 174 

Temperature of the Body 199 

The Body, Organic Materials 175 

The Foal Inherits from Parents. .. 181 
Thoroughlired r.s. Draft-Horse, Il- 
lustrating Lungs 180 

Tight-Reining 205 

Transmitted Qualities 196 

Yovmg Horses at Work 178 



PART XV. 



THINGS TO BE 

Anodyne Poultice 212, 813 

Apphcations to Stay Bleeding 219 

As to Admixtures 213 

Astringent Poultice 213 

Blindness 216 

Blistering 210 

Blisters, when Useful 211 

Bran-Mashes 213 

Broken-Winded Horse 214 

Causes of Choking. 219 

Choking in Animals 217 



REMEMBERED. 

Condition-Powders 207 

Cui'e-alls 207 

Divided Artery and Ligature 221 

Dyspepsia, etc 209 

Excitant and Tonic 308 

Eyeball in Blindness 217 

For Indigestion 209 

For Liver, Catarrh, etc 309 

For Loss of Appetite 208 

Hemorrhage 219 

Ligature in Bleeding 230 



345 



PAGE. 

Poultices 212 

Remedial Measiu'es in Choking 218 

Roek-Salt a Stimulant 210 

The Probang in Choking 218 



PAGE. 

To Act on the Kidneys 208 

Treatment for Broken- Wind 215 

Use of Blisters 210 



PART XVI. 
DISEASES AND DISABILITIES REQUIRING EXTENDED PRESENTATION. 



Abnormal Teeth 244 

Abscess of the Foot 240 

As to the Frog 237 

Brittleness of the Hoof 232 

Broken- Wind 222 

Care of the Hoofs 234 

Caries of the Teeth 229 

Causes of Broken-Wind 224 

Confirmed Lamiuitis (Illustrated) . 239 

Cough of Broken- Wind 223 

Decomposition of the Teeth 248 

Diseases of the Teeth 247 

Disorders of the Mouth 228-230 

Division of the Nerve 226 

Examination for Bad Teeth 245 

Greedy Feeders and Broken- Wind, 225 

Heaves 222 

Horse-shoes and Shoeing 235 

Horses' Feet, Preserving of 230 

Illustrations of the Hoof 236 

Impaired Structure from Nerve 

Division 227 

Inclined Floors 238 

Injudicious Rasping 234 

Interfering Horses 227 

Lampas 228 

Loss of Teeth 229 

Morbid Growth in Teeth 245 

Nail in the Foot 238 

Natm'al and Unnatural Pasterns.. 281 

PART 



Navicular Disease 

Nerving 

Neurotomy 

Obliquity 

Poulticing Wounds 

Projecting Teeth 

Quidding 

Rasping the Flakes 

Ruptured Air-Ceils 

Save the SheU 

Shoeing Interfering Horses 

Shoulder Lameness vs. Navicular 

Disease 

Sole of the Foot 231, 

Symptoms of Navicular Disease. . . 

Teeth, Abnormal 

The Cofftn-Bone and Foot 

The Frog 

The Hoof and Smith '. 

The Navicular Bone Imphcated . . . 

The Pasterns Delineated 

The Sensitive Laminae 

Thick-Wind 

To Know Navicular Disease 

To Preserve the Hoof 

Treatment of Broken- Wind 

Where the Navicular Bone Lies . . . 

Wolf-Teeth 

Wounds of the Feet 

XVII. 



241 
226 
226 
236 
239 
246 
247 
2a3 
223 
2:J7 
228 

243 
232 
242 
244 
239 
237 
233 
241 
231 
237 
224 
243 
235 
225 
239 
228 
2:38 



DISEASES OF THE HEAD, BODY, AND INTERNAL ORGANS. 



Abnormal Position in Colts 304 

Abscess 267 

A Clean Hock 310 

Aggravated Ringbone 313 

An Old Sore 266 

Ascaridis of the Horse 288 

Azoturia 280 

Black Cancer 260 



Bog-Spavin 312 

Bog-Spavin (Illustrated) 273 

Bone Spavin 307 

Bony Tumor 275 

Bots in Horses 284 

Bruises 264 

CaUus 265 

Callous Tumors 271 



Bladder Worm 253 Capped Hock 311 



346 



INDEX. 



PAGE. 

Causes of Mange 262 

Chafing 265 

Chronic Catarrh 251 

Chronic PoU-evil 270 

Clyster 300, 301 

Colt Founder 279 

Confirmed Grease 317 

Contagiousness of Glanders 250 

Cracked Heels 318 

Crib-biting 255 

Curbed Hock.... 311 

Curby Hock (Illustrated) 312 

Diabetes 296 

Diarrhea 289 

Diseases of the Eyes 256 

Diseases of the Head 249 

Diseases of the Limbs 304 

Diseases of the Skin 258 

Dysentery 290 

Dyspepsia 294 

Early Stage of Grease 316 

Electrical Effects 303, 304 

Elephant-Leg.. 319 

Excitement and the Pulse 298 

Exostosis 275 

Farcy 250 

Fibrous Tumors 271 

Fistula 268 

Fistula (Illustrated) 269 

Fluctuating Tumors 274 

Founder 277 

Foundered Foot and the Shoe 279 

Founder in the Feet (Illustrated) . 278 

Fungous Tumors 272 

Glanders 249 

Gleet following Strangles 251, 252 

Grease 315 

Grease (Illustrated) 315 

Heaves 293 

Hemorrhoidal Botfly 286 

Hide-bound 258 

Horny Tumors 272 

Horse Bot (Illustrated) 285 

Hydro-thorax . 295 

Hytadids on the Brain 252 

Illustration of Bone Spavin 308 

Illustration of Farcy -buds 2')U 

Indications by the Pulse 299 

Indigestion 294 



PAGE. 

Indurated SweUing 264 

Inflammation of the Eye 256 

Inflammation of the Joints 306 

Intense Itching 260 

Internal Diseases 284 

Intestinal Worms 287 

Irregular Shedding of Teeth 225 

Itching of the Skin 259 

Knee-sprung 314 

Lacerated Wound 263 

Laminitis 278 

Leg SwoUen and Filled 330 

Lousiness 261 

Mange 261 

Mare, Drying up 303 

Melanosis 260 

Meningitis, Treatment of 281 

Nai-row -based Fungous Tumors . . . 272 

Nasal Gleet 251 

Natural Leg 320 

CEdema 259, 302 

Palsy 282 

Paralysis 282 

Paralysis, Partial 283 

Partm-ition 301, 302 

Pastern and Ringbone 313 

Punply Skin 259 

Pmk-Eye 258 

Pityriasis 259 

Poll-evil 270 

Profuse Staling. . . 296 

Prurigo 260 

Pulsations per Minute 298 

Ravages in the Stable 251 

Remedies for Mange 263 

Rheumatism 276 

Ringbone 313 

Ringbone (Illustrated) 306 

Scratches 317 

Sidebone (Illustrated) 306 

Slobbering 254 

Spavin, to Feel for 309 

Spinal Meningitis 280 

Splint, and Knee-sprung 314 

Sprained Hock 310 

Stocking of Limbs 323 

Strangulus of the Horse 288 

Swelled Legs 319 

Sweeny, So-called 305 



INDEX. 



347 



PAGE. 

Symptomatic Fever 291 

Synovial Tumors 2T.3 

Test for Mange 262 

The Nostril in Glanders 249 

The Pulse 297 

Thorough-pin 313 

Thorough-pin, Illustration of 314 

To Cleanse a Wound 264 

To Feel the Pulse 298 



PAGE. 

Tooth Blindness 252 

Traumatic Ophthalmia 256 

Tumor at Joint . . 274 

Tumors 270 

Turn Sick in the Horse 253-254 

Wart-like Tumors 272 

Warty Head (Illustrated) 273 

Wounds, Abscesses, and Tumors. . 2u3 



PART XVIII. 
MEDICINES, AND SAFE DOSES TO ADMINISTER. 



Alteratives 321 , .322 

Anodynes 322, 323 

Anthelmintics 323 

Antispasmodics 323, 324 

Aperients 324, 325 

Astringents 326, 327 

Blisters 327, 328 

Caustics 328, 329 

Clysters 329 

Cordials 330 

Demulcents 330, 3:31 

Diaphoretics 331 



Digestives 332 

Diuretics 332 

Embrocations 333 

Emulsions 333, 33 1 

Expectorants 334 

Febrifuges 334, 335 

Lotions 335 

Stimulants ,336 

Stomachics 33(i 

Styptics 336 

Tonics 337 



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